News politics 2008-05-29 Andanh.com

Obama faults McCain; Clinton mulls delegate fight Wed, 21 May 2008 20:38 EDT
Barack Obama criticized likely general election rival John McCain on Wednesday where it could hurt most - the Arizona senator's reputation as a champion of ethics. Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, raised the possibility she might carry her fight to the Democratic convention floor.

With more superdelegate endorsements after Kentucky and Oregon primaries the night before, Obama was just 64 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination.

The Illinois senator confidently detoured from the three remaining Democratic primary states - Puerto Rico, Montana, South Dakota - to campaign in Florida, a crucial state in the November election. He also kept his focus on McCain, the Republicans' certain nominee in the fall.

Obama said the Arizona senator has lost faith with his own good-government principles.

Ten years ago, Obama said, McCain proposed barring registered lobbyists from working for candidates' campaigns.

Mine Workers union endorses Obama for president Wed, 21 May 2008 13:50 EDT
The United Mine Workers of America endorsed Barack Obama for president Wednesday despite his recent defeats in primaries in coal-producing states where many of the union's members vote.

The endorsement continues organized labor's swing over to the Democratic front-runner as the primaries wrap up. Obama lost heavily to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Tuesday's Kentucky primary and last week's West Virginia primary.

"Senator Obama shares the values of UMWA members and our families. He understands and will fight for the needs our members have today and the hopes our members have for a secure future for themselves and their families," union president Cecil E. Roberts said.

The Mine Workers - along with the United Steelworkers union - had originally endorsed former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. However, Edwards dropped out of the race and threw his support to Obama last week and was immediately followed by the Steelworkers union.

Only one union that originally endorsed Edwards - the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners - has not subsequently endorsed Obama.

Obama inching ever closer to nomination Wed, 21 May 2008 19:15 EDT
Close to securing the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama lavished attention on Florida and its wreckage of a presidential primary while minding his manners with Hillary Rodham Clinton - a rival he now can afford to praise.

Obama detoured Wednesday from the campaign for the three remaining primaries - Puerto Rico, Montana, South Dakota - to rally in a state where its renegade primary was disallowed.

"It is good to be back in Florida. It's good to be back. I know you guys have been holding down the fort," Obama told supporters at a Tampa, Fla., rally.

Clinton, too, was in Florida, pressing to narrow her gap with Obama by having delegates counted from its contest in January.

The former first lady told supporters in Florida that they "learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner," a reference to the state's disputed presidential vote that gave George W. Bush the White House. "The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear: If any votes aren't counted, the will of the people isn't realized and our democracy is diminished."

Obama closes in on Democratic nomination Wed, 21 May 2008 19:20 EDT
Sen. Barack Obama pulled within shouting distance of the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, though he still needs help from superdelegates to claim the prize.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won more of the delegates at stake in Tuesday's primaries, including an overwhelming majority in Kentucky. Obama fared better in Oregon, where election officials were still counting votes Wednesday.

The split decision left Obama fewer than 70 delegates from the 2,026 needed to secure the nomination.

Clinton won at least 56 delegates in the two states and Obama won at least 43, according to an analysis of election returns by The Associated Press. All the delegates from Kentucky were awarded, but there were still four to be allocated in Oregon. A total of 103 were at stake in both primaries.

Obama had a total of 1,963 delegates, including endorsements from party and elected officials known as superdelegates. Clinton had 1,778 delegates, according to the latest tally by the AP.

Analysis: Race draws to end, time for legacies Wed, 21 May 2008 18:05 EDT
The Democratic presidential race is all but over.

Barring a cataclysmic change of events, Barack Obama will win enough pledged and superdelegates to capture the party's nomination. The only real issue is whether he and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton leave the race with their futures - and their party - intact.

For Obama, that means winning with class so he endears himself to Clinton's supporters - letting her leave the race on her own terms, without gloating or appearing to push her out with any disrespect. And Clinton has to be careful not to damage Obama and make her legacy a weakened Democratic nominee in the fall.

No matter what the New York senator and former first lady wants to do next - angle to be Obama's running mate, make another presidential run or ascend one day to Senate Democratic leader, it's in her interest to leave the 2008 race in a position of strength. She's doing a bang-up job of that.

Even as Obama is steadily climbing toward the 2,026 delegates he needs to secure the nomination - he was within 70 after Tuesday night's split decision in Kentucky and Oregon - Clinton has defeated him in four of the last seven primaries, including big states such as Pennsylvania.

Obama, McCain hold cash while Clinton sees debt Wed, 21 May 2008 03:40 EDT
The money tells the tale. Democrat Barack Obama entered May sitting comfortably atop more than $37 million in the bank. Republican John McCain had nearly $22 million in hand. Hillary Rodham Clinton, once the Democrats' presidential front-runner, was in the red.

Obama, moving closer to his party's nomination, let his fundraising slow only slightly last month and collected $31 million. Clinton raised more than $21 million, but was saddled with debts. And McCain, in his best monthly performance yet, hauled in $18 million.

Financially, the month tracked the three candidates' political fortunes. Clinton beat Obama in Pennsylvania on April 22 and saw a $10 million surge in donations in a 24-hour period. But money and the delegates needed for the nomination still flowed primarily to Obama.

McCain, lacking rivals and assured the GOP nomination, spent little and worked on consolidating his fundraising base.

The three candidates filed their financial reports Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Turner beats Hamilton in rematch for 29th District Wed, 21 May 2008 02:05 EDT
A handful of primary races for the state Senate ended with a prominent Democrat incumbent holding on in Eastern Kentucky and a former Democratic U.S. representative making a political comeback in Kentucky.

Additionally, the Republican primary to claim the open 11th Senate District ended in dispute with a candidate calling for a recount.

The state Senate race that has garnered the most attention in Eastern Kentucky was a rematch between Eric Shane Hamilton and Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, who defeated Hamilton in the 2004 Democratic primary for the 29th Senate District seat by just 24 votes.

Turner, the Senate's Democratic Caucus chairman, managed to narrowly edge out Hamilton again, according to unofficial results from the Kentucky State Board of Elections.

There are no Republicans vying for the 29th seat, which serves Floyd, Knott, Breathitt and Letcher counties.

Clinton wins big in Ky.; Obama closer to nomination Wed, 21 May 2008 09:29 EDT
Kentucky voters ignored mounting evidence that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will be the Democratic presidential nominee and overwhelmingly supported U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday, sending the primary race on to three final contests.

Clinton defeated Obama by 35 points and 250,000 votes. And with an upbeat resolve, she pledged to keep her campaign going in Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

"This continues to be a tough fight and I have fought it the only way I know how: with determination," she said at her victory speech at Louisville's Marriott Hotel Downtown. She added, "I'm going to keep making our case until we have a nominee, whoever she may be."

But Obama snared a key consolation prize by nabbing 14 of Kentucky's 51 pledged delegates -- enough to pass a key threshold. He has a majority of the 3,253 Democratic National Convention delegates that are divvied up based on primary election results.

Democrats in Oregon then delivered Obama a solid win and a majority of that state's 52 pledged delegates in a mail-in-ballot primary Tuesday.

On the ballot Wed, 21 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Here is a list of contested state and federal primary races. Candidates without an opponent are not listed. All judicial races are non-partisan. Symbols: (I) = incumbent (W) = withdrawn

President

Democrats

Barack Obama 209,771

Hillary R. Clinton 459,145

The day Bill Clinton came to my home Tue, 20 May 2008 11:30 EDT
Former President Bill Clinton came to our house Monday.

I can't remember the last time a onetime leader of the free world stopped by for a visit to 418 West High Street in Mount Sterling. He shook hands with my family and a few friends and spoke to a crowd of 1,500 or so on our front lawn.

He came as part of a five-town tour for his wife's presidential campaign.

Two days earlier -- before we became famous -- a local Democratic activist, Charlie White, had called my wife to say he was having breakfast with a member of the Clinton advance team. He invited my wife to join them for a drive around town to locate a place for the former president to speak.

After an hour or so with no luck finding a suitable site, my wife mentioned that our house might meet the qualifications: a front porch, a level lawn and understanding neighbors. They wanted something decidedly New Deal middle class. No tax-breaks-for-the-rich mansion.

Both Obama and Clinton prepare to claim victories Tue, 20 May 2008 08:39 EDT
U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton stirred an electric capacity crowd at Transylvania University on the eve of Kentucky's long-awaited presidential primary, even as her opponent -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama -- prepared to achieve a key milestone Tuesday.

While it's unlikely Obama can snare the magic number of 2,026 total Democratic National Convention votes to secure the nomination Tuesday, he's almost assured to get a majority of the 3,253 pledged delegates -- those who are automatically assigned to support a candidate based on the results of states' primaries and caucuses.

Obama needs just 14 more to pass that mark with 103 pledged delegates at stake in Oregon and Kentucky, which both vote Tuesday.

"When the votes are counted in Oregon and Kentucky, we could secure a majority of delegates elected by the voters," Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said Monday in a memo to supporters. "A clear majority of elected delegates will send an unmistakable message: The people have spoken, and they are ready for change."

Obama will campaign Tuesday in Iowa, the state that gave him his first win five months ago. But Clinton's campaign warned him not to claim the nomination there.

Chelsea makes surprise appearance at bookstore Tue, 20 May 2008 16:31 EDT
Chelsea Clinton stopped at Joseph-Beth Booksellers Tuesday morning to read a children's book to about a dozen young boys and girls.

Most of the parents and grandparents who accompanied the little ones did not realize Clinton, the daughter of presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., would be reading during the usual story time.

Store employees received confirmation of Chelsea Clinton's visit about 10 p.m. Monday, marketing manager Rachel Ray said.

Edward Smith, who normally reads to the children on Tuesday and Thursday, said he didn't know he wouldn't be reading until he walked into the store.

"The kids will enjoy it," Smith said of his replacement.

Money quandaries in presidential race Wed, 21 May 2008 20:38 EDT
As they steer toward November's presidential election, Democrats and Republicans are assessing the financial challenges ahead.

The Republican problem: Even while losing primaries and fending off bad press over his former pastor, Democrat Barack Obama was able to raise $1 million a day last month. John McCain, unrivaled and secure in his eventual nomination, had his best fundraising month and raised only $18 million.

The Democratic problem: The Republican National Committee, with McCain operatives in place, raised nearly $16 million and had more than $40 million in the bank at the start of May. The Democratic National Committee had $4.4 million.

"This gap is going to be one of the immediate challenges that the Obama campaign has to deal with during the summer," said Bill Carrick, a California-based Democratic consultant who has worked on various presidential campaigns.

Obama entered May sitting comfortably atop more than $37. McCain had nearly $22 million in hand. Hillary Rodham Clinton, once the Democrats' presidential front-runner, was in the red.

NRA fears disaster if Democrat wins in fall Mon, 19 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Using Kentucky as a stage, a string of high-profile speakers at the National Rifle Association's 137th annual meeting painted the 2008 presidential race as a showdown over the right to bear arms.

But the fall election also could prove to be a key test of the NRA's political muscle.

The group focused much of its meeting this weekend on gearing up its members, especially the 60,000 who traveled to Louisville, to defeat the Democratic nominee in November, be it U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois or U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

NRA leaders and top-ranking Republicans said both Democrats are risks on eroding gun ownership rights. But to prevail, the group must overcome a tough national atmosphere for the GOP and lackluster success in recent battleground campaigns.

Although the group won't officially endorse in the presidential race until after the parties' national conventions this summer, it sent strong signals this weekend that likely GOP nominee John McCain would get the gun lobby's backing, despite some differences with the Arizona senator in the past.

McConnell starts Senate race swinging at Lunsford Wed, 21 May 2008 14:41 EDT

Democratic voter turnout is heavy: 43% Wed, 21 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Kentucky voters, especially Democrats, turned out in record numbers Tuesday.

With 99.2 percent of precincts reporting, tallies indicated that 43 percent of Kentucky's registered Democrats voted in Tuesday's primary.

The Republican showing was more modest, with 18.9 percent going to the polls.

The overall voter turnout of 32 percent topped the previous record of 26.5 percent in 1992.

That year, 31 percent of the state's Democrats voted in the presidential primary. Just 16 percent voted in the 2004 presidential primary.

Beshear: Hold off on water projects Tue, 20 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Gov. Steve Beshear is warning state lawmakers not to announce water and sewer projects for their districts that are contained in the new state budget, citing concern about the state's debt rating.

In a May 9 letter to legislators obtained by the Herald-Leader, Beshear said they should coordinate any announcements through his office to ensure that funds actually exist.

The state will "proceed with extreme caution" before it issues new bonds, said Beshear, noting that the credit rating outlook for the state recently was revised downward.

"I am concerned about this action, which typically is a precursor to a rating downgrade, an action that could cost the Commonwealth considerably more to fund the critical capital investments we need in our state," Beshear wrote.

Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said Beshear's letter is "another situation where the governor ignores the budget and tries to impose a one-man rule."

NY Gov: Clinton should stop Mich, Fla effort Thu, 22 May 2008 18:50 EDT
New York Gov. David Paterson, a superdelegate who supports Hillary Rodham Clinton, said she's showing "a little desperation" and should give up her effort to count votes from renegade primaries in Michigan and Florida.

Paterson said Thursday that Clinton shouldn't derail the process by which the national Democratic Party stripped Michigan and Florida of their national convention delegates because they moved their primaries up to January in violation of party rules. The rules were agreed to by all the candidates, including Clinton, before she won the two January contests. Because of the violations, no candidates campaigned in either state and her rival Barack Obama took his name off Michigan's ballot.

"I would say at this point we're starting to see a little desperation on the part of a woman I still support and will support until she makes a different determination," Paterson told WAMC-FM radio. "Candidates have to be cautious in their zeal to win that they don't trample on the process."

Paterson said he doubted his home-state senator would get the edge over Obama, even if the two states' votes were counted.

Seating both groups in the way most favorable to Clinton would still leave her trailing Obama in the delegate count, because his lead is now almost 200 delegates.

McCain rejects pastor's endorsement Thu, 22 May 2008 22:06 EDT
Republican John McCain on Thursday rejected endorsements from two influential but controversial televangelists, saying there is no place for their incendiary criticisms of other faiths.

McCain rejected the months-old endorsement of Texas preacher John Hagee after an audio recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land. McCain called the comment "crazy and unacceptable."

He later repudiated the support of Rod Parsley, an Ohio preacher who has sharply criticized Islam and called the religion inherently violent.

McCain issued a statement Thursday afternoon announcing his decision about Hagee.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well," he said.

McCain, Obama spar on GI bill Thu, 22 May 2008 21:00 EDT
Republican John McCain, a Vietnam War hero who hopes to be commander in chief, said Thursday that Democrat Barack Obama had no right to accuse him of political posturing on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

"And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," the Arizona senator said in a harshly worded statement issued Thursday.

At issue is an expansion of the GI bill that would guarantee full college scholarships for those who serve in the military for three years. The Democratic-led Senate on Thursday passed the measure, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., and supported by Obama, on a 75-22 vote as 25 Republicans abandoned President Bush, who opposed it.

Obama and his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, returned to Washington for the vote. McCain stayed in California to campaign and raise money.

McCain opposes the measure, as does the Pentagon, out of concern that providing such a benefit after only three years of service would encourage people to leave the military after only one enlistment even as the U.S. fights two wars and is trying to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps. McCain said he worries it would reduce the number of noncommissioned officers.

Analysis: Party insider Clinton now on the outs Thu, 22 May 2008 18:35 EDT
After more than a decade as the ultimate Democratic Party insider, Hillary Rodham Clinton finds herself in a strange place: on the outside looking in, beseeching party leaders to help keep her White House bid alive.

In campaign appearances through south Florida, Clinton called out her own party's leadership, urging them to restore national convention delegates to Florida and Michigan. These delegates were stripped from the two states for jumping ahead in the line of primaries in violation of party rules that all the candidates, including Clinton, agreed to before she won the two January contests.

"We're asking the Democratic National Committee to make sure they count all of your votes," she said at a Miami rally Wednesday night.

In years past, the Clintons didn't have to ask the DNC for anything; they just told the committee what to do.

Her husband, after all, was the president. She worked in the White House. Her current campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, is an old Clinton friend and fundraiser who once ran the DNC.

Fact Check: Obama's outreach to foes questionable Thu, 22 May 2008 18:24 EDT
Barack Obama's willingness to meet Iranian, Cuban and other hostile leaders who would not get face time from John McCain stands as a distinctive element of his foreign policy.

Distinctive, yes, but clearly defined? Not quite.

Obama's openness early on to meeting Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, without preconditions has given way to equivocation. He said this week he's not sure "Ahmadinejad is the right person to meet with right now" and other figures in Iran have more power.

Nor is it certain lately at what point he, as president, would speak personally with some of the dictators he says should be engaged.

On Thursday, speaking to voters in a Boca Raton, Fla., synagogue, Obama again advocated direct diplomacy with Iran, but without specifying at what level.

Cuban American National Foundation to hear Obama Thu, 22 May 2008 13:00 EDT
The Cuban American National Foundation, once the foremost voice representing the Cuban exile cause in Washington, is hosting a speech Friday by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in a bold move to recapture the group's prominence.

Its founder, Jorge Mas Canosa, long served as a symbol of stalwart anti-Castro sentiment. But since his 1997 death, the group has receded into the cacophony of Cuban-American voices.

The decision to host Obama is a daring move in a community generally more supportive of Republican candidate John McCain and even Obama's Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"Right now, it's a very important chapter in the history of Cuba. We are also at a turning point in our own community," said Francisco Hernandez, the foundation's president and co-founder.

Hernandez said the next president will have a unique opportunity - now that Raul Castro has replaced his brother Fidel as Cuban president - to promote change on the communist nation and is calling on the government to allow private organizations to send money directly to dissidents on the island.

Officials say Obama starts search for running mate Thu, 22 May 2008 17:50 EDT
Likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama has begun a top-secret search for a running mate, fresh signs that the general election campaign is well under way and the primary race against Hillary Rodham Clinton is basically over.

Obama has asked former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson to begin vetting potential vice presidential picks, Democratic officials said Thursday. Johnson did the same job for Democratic nominees John Kerry in 2004 and Walter Mondale in 1984.

Obama refused to acknowledge Johnson's role when The Associated Press asked the Illinois senator about it in the Captiol Thursday.

"I haven't hired him. He's not on retainer. I'm not paying him any money. He is a friend of mine. I know him," Obama said. "I am not commenting on vice presidential matters because I have not won this nomination."

The Democratic officials spoke on a condition of anonymity about a process that the campaign wants to keep quiet.

3 superdelegates say they'll stay neutral in primary Thu, 22 May 2008 06:21 EDT
Even after watching U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's landslide 35-point victory in Tuesday's primary, Kentucky's three sought-after undecided Democratic superdelegates -- including Gov. Steve Beshear -- say they're staying neutral in the presidential primary.

Beshear acknowledged that while Clinton's win in the Bluegrass State was big, the New York Senator faces a "difficult" road to lock up the Democratic nomination.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama leads Clinton in total Democratic delegates and, after Tuesday's contest in Kentucky and win in Oregon, now holds a majority of delegates that are automatically assigned to a candidate based on results.

"It appears very difficult for her to win in the end," Beshear told the Herald-Leader Wednesday after speaking to a business group in Shelbyville. "But, obviously, it's still -- it's still possible."

Beshear, state Democratic Party Chairman Jennifer Moore and Vice Chairman Nathan Smith will serve as three of Kentucky's nine superdelegates at the Democratic National Convention in August.

Obama promises unshakable support for Israel Thu, 22 May 2008 17:55 EDT
Barack Obama is promising an "unshakable commitment" to Israel if he is elected president.

The Illinois senator also says he hopes his presidency would help improve strained relations between American black and Jewish communities.

The Illinois senator was speaking a town hall meeting at a synagogue in Florida on Thursday.

Democratic presidential candidates didn't campaign in Florida during the primary, but Obama is focusing on the state now that he's close to wrapping up the nomination.

Some Jewish voters are turned off by his willingness to negotiate with countries like Iran and Syria. Others reject Obama because of e-mails spreading false rumors about him.

Senator challenges Lunsford on issues Thu, 22 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell charged into general election mode by moving to define his opponent and by offering an issues test to his newly minted Democratic challenger, Bruce Lunsford.

McConnell, speaking to reporters on a teleconference the morning after Kentucky's primary election, said he wanted to know how Lunsford, if he were a U.S. senator, would vote on the upcoming national spending bill and his reaction to an 11-year-old budget reduction act. He also said he was curious about Lunsford's position on how to address soaring gasoline prices.

The first volley of issue-based challenges opened what is expected to be contentious, nationally watched campaign between the four-term senator -- one of only two Kentuckians to serve as his party's leader in that chamber -- and Lunsford, a Louisville businessman and entrepreneur.

McConnell predicted Lunsford would "run the most negative campaign Kentuckians have ever seen."

He went on to link Lunsford to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama -- whom McConnell said he expects to be the Democratic presidential candidate -- as well as to Gov. Steve Beshear.

Obama defends his patriotism, quarrels with McCain Mon, 12 May 2008 19:53 EDT
Wearing a flag lapel pin, Sen. Barack Obama emphasized his patriotism and support for a strong and humane military Monday, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton implored West Virginians to sustain her hopes of somehow denying him the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama expects Clinton to win Tuesday's primary in West Virginia, which has large numbers of working-class whites - a group that usually backs the former first lady - as well as a strong military tradition. He used his visit to Charleston to combat critics' claims that he is not particularly patriotic or ready to be commander in chief, in part because he never served in the military, usually does not wear a flag pin, and opposed the Iraq war from the start.

Obama broke from his usual practice by wearing the flag pin and reading his speech instead of talking without notes. He told several thousand people at the Charleston Civic Center that patriotism means more than saluting flags and holding parades. He criticized Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain for opposing a Democratic bill to expand education benefits for veterans.

"At a time when we're facing the largest homecoming since the Second World War," Obama said of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "the true test of our patriotism is whether we will serve our returning heroes as well as they've served us."

Pointing to the Bush administration, he said, "we know that over the last eight years we've already fallen short of meeting this test." He cited once shabby conditions at such facilities as Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and long waits and bureaucratic obstacles facing many who seek care from the Veterans Administration.

Former Ga. Rep. Barr picked as Libertarian candidate Mon, 26 May 2008 04:20 EDT
The Libertarian Party on Sunday picked former Republican Rep. Bob Barr to be its presidential candidate after six rounds of balloting.

Barr beat research scientist Mary Ruwart, who also sought the party's presidential nomination unsuccessfully in 1983, on the final ballot. The vote was 324-276.

Barr endorsed Wayne Allyn Root, who was eliminated in the fifth round, to be his vice-presidential nominee.

Barr left the GOP in 2006 over what he called bloated spending and civil liberties intrusions by the Bush administration.

The former Georgia congressman said he's not in the race to be a spoiler.

Clinton speaks of faith in the face of setbacks Mon, 26 May 2008 13:15 EDT
Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday offered a spiritual defense for continuing her presidential campaign, as she sought to put to rest the uproar over her comments about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Speaking to a full congregation at the Pabellon de la Victoria evangelical church, Clinton spoke in measured terms about faith in the face of adversity.

"There isn't anything we cannot do together if we seek God's blessing and if we stay committed and are not deterred by the setbacks that often fall in every life," Clinton said.

Clinton is campaigning for Puerto Rico's primary on June 1, which offers 55 pledged delegates to the national Democratic convention. The New York senator is expected to win the contest, thanks partly to her ties to the large Puerto Rican community in her home state.

Clinton spoke of her determination to stay in the race despite trailing Illinois Sen. Obama, who picked up three more superdelegates in Hawaii on Sunday, giving him a total of 1,977 delegates, just 49 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination. Clinton still has 1,779.

Obama hasn't shown Missouri voters enough yet Sun, 25 May 2008 19:37 EDT
When Linda Sanders mounted an eight-foot sign on her property urging neighbors to vote Democratic, people threw eggs at it and someone set it on fire.

Sanders, a retired hairdresser, was a fan of former North Carolina senator John Edwards. She's all for Barack Obama now, but she's afraid that if he gets her party's nomination, he may not be an easy sell in Missouri.

"I know people who are distrustful of Obama. But it's not because he's black. They're Hillary people. .. We're not sure we know enough about him personally," said Clara Vaughn, a nonprofit administrator in Lee's Summit, a Kansas City suburb.

With one exception, Missouri has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1904. If Obama, who's ahead of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination, gets the nod, he'll need to win over people like Vaughn in order to win Missouri's 11 electoral votes in November.

Opinions about Obama are largely polarized in the state's small towns and rural areas, but there's no single reason that voters are wary of him.

Obama urges Wesleyan grads to enter public service Mon, 26 May 2008 08:45 EDT
Filling in for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and tying himself to the family's legacy, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama urged college graduates Sunday to "make us believe again" by dedicating themselves to public service.

"We may disagree as Americans on certain issues and positions, but I believe we can be unified in service to a greater good. I intend to make it a cause of my presidency, and I believe with all my heart that this generation is ready and eager and up to the challenge," Obama told Wesleyan University's Class of 2008.

The Illinois senator peppered his speech with references to the Kennedy legacy: John F. Kennedy urging Americans to ask what they can do for their country, the Peace Corps and Robert Kennedy talking about people creating "ripples of hope."

He devoted special attention and praise to Edward M. Kennedy, the longtime Massachusetts senator who had planned to deliver the graduation address but backed out last week after he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.

Obama, who leads in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, said he and Kennedy had talked last week about Obama delivering the speech. Kennedy has endorsed Obama in the nominating contest against fellow Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and has campaigned for him.

Obama picks up 4 delegates Sun, 25 May 2008 13:57 EDT
Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton each picked up a delegate in Georgia on Saturday as state Democrats selected their delegation to the party's national convention in Denver this summer.

Obama picked up another superdelegate later Saturday in Wyoming, then one more in Alaska. Obama also took a pledged delegate from Clinton at Alaska's Democratic party convention Saturday.

That brings Obama's overall delegates to 1,974 - only 52 shy of the 2,026 needed to secure the presidential nomination - to Clinton's 1,779.

The two add-on delegates in Georgia are state party secretary Stephen Leeds, an Obama supporter, and Verna Cleveland, who was Clinton's Georgia state director.

The add-on in Wyoming was state Rep. W. Patrick Goggles, who told the Associated Press after his selection that he will support Obama at the convention.

Lunsford takes on McConnell Sat, 24 May 2008 02:04 EDT
After gaining the support of his chief foe in the primary election, Democrat Bruce Lunsford challenged Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell on Friday to a debate "anywhere, anytime" in Kentucky.

Justin Brasell, McConnell's campaign spokesman, responded that "Bruce should be careful what he wishes for."

"We are happy to discuss debates as soon as Bruce tells Kentuckians how he would vote on the budget being considered in the Senate," Brasell said.

Lunsford, a wealthy Louisville businessman who turned back six challengers this week to win the Democratic nomination, joined Democrats Friday at party headquarters for a unity rally in preparation of November's general elections.

It attracted Gov. Steve Beshear, several state officeholders and Lunsford's chief rival in the primary election, Louisville businessman Greg Fischer. Fischer pledged his support for the Lunsford campaign and said he would work hard for Lunsford's defeat of McConnell.

Rally puts face on those hurt by state health cuts Fri, 23 May 2008 02:04 EDT
As Deputy Health Services Secretary Steve Nunn bemoaned the "totally inadequate budget" that cuts state programs for the disabled and aging, several people in the audience held posters reminding him that "Every cut has a face."

One such face in the crowd of more than 100 rallying against planned further cuts was Robert Denton, 28, of Louisville. He was a resident for 18 months at Oakwood, Kentucky's largest residential center for adults with mental retardation and other disabilities.

"I was in Oakwood. I didn't like Oakwood," Denton said. "Keep people out of institutions. More money for community services. Put people first. Put people first."

Officials in the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services are planning 3 percent cuts to public health departments and community mental health centers, and smaller cuts to other social services.

Their plans are in response to Gov. Steve Beshear's request this month that most state agencies 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.

Will Obama fight for rural votes? Sun, 25 May 2008 02:04 EDT
It's hard to imagine now, says Charlie Peters, but back in 1960, the Catholicism of John F. Kennedy was every bit as big a problem for Appalachian voters as Barack Obama's race appears to be today.

When Peters, Kennedy's Kanawha County campaign chairman, first took him around Charleston, W.Va., at least 20 percent of the people refused to shake his hand. So Kennedy spent 16 of the 30 days before the primary showing West Virginians "he wasn't wearing the pope's clothes," Peters said.

The campaign brought in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., distributed 40,000 copies of a Reader's Digest story about Kennedy's heroism in World War II and spread around plenty of money. Kennedy won the primary, which helped propel him to the nomination.

The Obama campaign chose a different route -- a smattering of TV commercials and fliers about his Christian faith, but just one visit by the candidate to Kentucky and West Virginia this year. There was little direct conversation about voters' misconceptions of his religion, or about concerns relating to divisive remarks by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

He lost to Hillary Rodham Clinton in both states by more than 30 points.

Obama is choice of state GOP Mon, 26 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Kentucky Democrats in Tuesday's primary vote sent a clear message -- by 35 percentage points -- that they wanted U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be their party's presidential nominee.

But Kentucky Republicans, on the day after the primary, sent their own signals that they'd be pleased to have the Democrats nominate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.

"The results speak for themselves," said GOP U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is up for re-election this fall. "He outspent Hillary Clinton and lost our state 2-to-1 -- 65 percent to 30 -- and carried only two counties, Jefferson County and Fayette County. That's not an indication of great appeal to Kentucky voters."

McConnell, in fact, immediately linked his Democratic opponent in the November race, Bruce Lunsford, to Obama in a statement on election night and the next day to reporters. Expect him to use the phrase "Obama-Lunsford agenda" often this fall.

The "Obama factor" might have been the biggest story line to emerge from Kentucky's primary as the state's congressional and General Assembly candidates look to November, said J. Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist for Peritus Public Relations.

AP INTERVIEW: McCain criticizes Obama on Iraq Mon, 26 May 2008 18:55 EDT
Republican John McCain on Monday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for not having been to Iraq since 2006, and said they should visit the war zone together.

"Look at what happened in the last two years since Senator Obama visited and declared the war lost," the GOP nominee-in-waiting told The Associated Press in an interview, noting that the Illinois senator's last trip to Iraq came before the military buildup that is credited with curbing violence.

"He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time," the Arizona senator added. "If there was any other issue before the American people, and you hadn't had anything to do with it in a couple of years, I think the American people would judge that very harshly."

McCain, a Navy veteran and Vietnam prisoner of war, frequently argues that he's the most qualified candidate to be a wartime commander in chief. In recent weeks, he has sought portray Obama, a first-term senator, as naive on foreign policy and not as qualified to lead the military.

The Iraq war, which polls have shown that most of the country opposes, is shaping up to be a defining issue in the November presidential election. McCain, who wrapped up the GOP nomination in March, supports continued military involvement in Iraq; Obama, who has all but clinched the Democratic nomination, has called for withdrawing U.S. troops.

FBI interviews former state highway official Sun, 25 May 2008 02:04 EDT
The FBI has interviewed an engineer who was closely involved with state highway contracts as part of an investigation of Transportation Cabinet procedures when Ernie Fletcher was governor.

Engineer James W. Rummage didn't want to talk about the probe; his attorney, Marc Murphy, wouldn't give details Friday about the FBI's interview, The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported.

Rummage oversaw the state's highway contracting process in 2005-07. He resigned from the department March 31.

Last month, Transportation Secretary Joe Prather confirmed that the FBI was investigating incidents that occurred in the cabinet during Fletcher's administration. Fletcher ran for re-election last year but lost.

Prather said his cabinet is cooperating with investigators. He declined this past week to elaborate on what he knows about the investigation.

McCain: US, China could stop making nuke bomb fuel Tue, 27 May 2008 17:23 EDT
Republican presidential candidate John McCain called Tuesday for talks with China to negotiate a temporary halt to production of nuclear weapons-grade material and with Russia on a new treaty to destroy more nuclear weapons.

"Today we deploy thousands of nuclear warheads," McCain said. "It is my hope to move as rapidly as possible to a significantly smaller force." He did not set a specific goal but said the number would be consistent with U.S. security and global commitments.

Cautioning against relying solely on force or merely on talks, McCain proposed a bipartisan push to strengthen a broad array of international arms treaties and nuclear monitoring. And he criticized past administrations, both Democratic and Republican, for failing to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

"We should also begin a dialogue with China on strategic and nuclear issues," the likely Republican presidential nominee said in a speech at the University of Denver. The goal would be to encourage China to conform to the practices of the other four nuclear powers recognized by the Non-Proliferation Treaty, "including working toward nuclear arsenal reductions and toward a moratorium on the production of additional fissile material."

Noting that the United States and Russia "no longer are mortal enemies," McCain said the two countries, as the owners of the majority of the world's nuclear weapons, "have a special responsibility to reduce their number."

Castro criticizes Obama plan to keep US embargo Tue, 27 May 2008 12:45 EDT
Former President Fidel Castro says Sen. Barack Obama's plan to maintain Washington's trade embargo against Cuba will cause hunger and suffering on the island.

In a column published Monday by government-run newspapers, Castro said Obama was "the most-advanced candidate in the presidential race," but noted that he has not dared to call for altering U.S. policy toward Cuba.

"Obama's speech can be translated as a formula for hunger for the country," Castro wrote, referring to Obama's remarks last week to the influential Cuban American National Foundation in Miami.

Obama said he would maintain the nearly fifty-year-old trade sanctions against Cuba as leverage to push for democratic change on the island. But he also vowed to ease restrictions on Cuban Americans traveling to Cuba and sending money to relatives.

He repeated his willingness to meet with Raul Castro, who in February succeeded his elder brother Fidel to become the nation's first new leader in 49 years.

Bush to hold fundraiser for McCain in Phoenix Tue, 27 May 2008 14:39 EDT
President Bush on Tuesday plunged into a fundraising tour for Sen. John McCain, but don't expect to see much of the two men together.

The president begins a three-day Western trip in Arizona, home state of McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee. Bush will cap the day by holding a closed fundraiser with McCain in Phoenix.

The event marks the first time Bush, whose popularity still sags at record lows, will appear with McCain since he endorsed him at the White House nearly three months ago. The two will appear together in public only briefly, for a photo at the Phoenix airport.

Bush is also holding two private fundraisers for McCain on Wednesday in Utah. Those events will also benefit the national Republican Party.

In the Albuquerque area, Bush touched down long enough to lead a private fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Darren White, a local sheriff. New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, historically a safe one for Republicans, is considered wide open this year.

Obama says he will fight McCain for western states Tue, 27 May 2008 17:23 EDT
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama set his sights on the West on Tuesday, saying he will fight for states there that narrowly voted Republican in the last presidential election four years ago.

Obama, the Democratic front-runner, and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain were trading barbs as they began crisscrossing three western states that are likely to be pivotal battlegrounds in the November general election: New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado. President George W. Bush also was traveling west to raise funds for McCain and the Republican Party.

The two candidates recently have largely ignored Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's long-shot rival, who on Monday wrapped up three days of campaigning in Puerto Rico. The territory's primary on Sunday is one of just three left as the intense months-long battle for the Democratic presidential nomination winds down and Obama looks to be the inevitable nominee.

Obama is just 49 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to win the Democratic nomination. Clinton is trailing and has almost no chances of getting the nomination.

On Tuesday, Obama was heading to Nevada for campaign events in the Las Vegas area, where he was expected to focus on economic issues. In April, Nevada posted the worst foreclosure rate in the U.S., with one in every 146 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice, nearly four times the national rate.

Obama signaling he will fight for Western states Tue, 27 May 2008 15:26 EDT
It's the first event on the first day of a campaign swing through three Western states, and Barack Obama is covering all his bases.

He's got patriotism, a Memorial Day event for veterans. He's got cowboys, the location is the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. He's got Hispanic voters, Gov. Bill Richardson introduced him. He's even got a nod to the environment: The Organ Mountains loom behind him as birds sing and the warm New Mexico wind blows.

Obama is signaling, even before the Democratic primary formally wraps up, that he intends to fight this fall for Western states that narrowly went Republican four years ago.

New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado aren't definitely Democratic blue or Republican red. Instead, they're known as "purple states" by political junkies.

Together, they account for only 19 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. But those votes could be vital in a close race, particularly if Obama's weakness among white, blue-collar voters carries over from the primary race and cuts his chance of winning some other states where Democrats usually do well.

The era of big Clintons is soon over Tue, 27 May 2008 14:24 EDT
There's been a Clinton running for the White House or living in it for approximately forever.

Bill, it could be said, was born to run. Running became Hillary's destiny, too.

One quarter of Americans have never known life without a Clinton trying for or having the presidency. Millions have gone from diapers to diplomas in the time of the Clintons.

When Hillary Rodham Clinton finally exits the 2008 Democratic presidential race, she will end a decades-long, power-couple streak of unique political energy, savvy ideas, colossal policy flops and raw ambition dressed in pants suits and briefs, not boxers.

"Every day is an adventure," Bill said cheerfully at the start of it all. And how.

Fact Check: Clinton and the 1992 campaign Tue, 27 May 2008 17:47 EDT
Hillary Rodham Clinton often says her husband wrapped up the Democratic presidential nomination in June 1992 in defending her decision to press ahead until the last primary votes.

Sixteen years ago, six contests in June did give Bill Clinton the necessary delegates for the nomination, but he had essentially won the nomination in March 1992.

Several Democrats have called on the New York senator to exit the race as she faces diminishing odds of becoming the party's nominee. With only three primaries left, Barack Obama is 48 delegates shy of the 2,026 needed to secure the nomination at the convention. He has 1,978 delegates to her 1,779.

Clinton says it is not unusual for candidates to continue to campaign until June, using Bill Clinton as an example.

THE SPIN:

McCain defends stand against veterans-ed bill Tue, 27 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Facing heat from Democrats, John McCain used a Memorial Day appearance to defend his opposition to Senate-passed legislation that would provide additional college financial aid to veterans.

The issue has become a point of contention between the Republican nominee-in-waiting and Democratic rival Barack Obama, who supports the measure. The two have squared off from a distance in recent days, at times with heated words.

Obama also spent Monday in New Mexico, a battleground state for the general election, while Democratic hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigned for a third day in Puerto Rico.

In his remarks Monday, McCain made no direct mention of Obama but seemed to poke at him nonetheless. McCain said his was the right position rather than the politically expedient one, suggesting Obama was on the wrong side of the measure sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia.

Last week, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved the bill, which would substantially increase educational benefits for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawmakers blocked a more limited version that McCain supported.

USVI delegate backs Clinton _ again Wed, 28 May 2008 22:15 EDT
He's for Hillary Clinton.

No, he's for Barack Obama.

Wait, Kevin Rodriquez really is for Clinton.

Whichever candidate the U.S. Virgin Islands superdelegate really supports in this tight race for the Democratic presidential nomination, he has become the first Obama superdelegate to switch allegiance.

At least 13 have gone the other way.

Obama considering visit to Iraq this summer Wed, 28 May 2008 23:05 EDT
Barack Obama is considering a visit to Iraq this summer, his first since becoming a presidential candidate.

The Democrat, who has been criticized by Republican rival John McCain for not visiting Iraq since 2006, revealed his plans to The New York Times. He also declined McCain's invitation for a joint trip.

"I just don't want to be involved in a political stunt," Obama said, according to a report on the newspaper's Web site Wednesday.

"I think that if I'm going to Iraq, then I'm there to talk to troops and talk to commanders," he said in the interview. "I'm not there to try to score political points or perform. The work they're doing there is too important."

McCain said he was pleased to hear that Obama was considering making the trip.

McCain, Bush largely similar on nuclear policies Wed, 28 May 2008 21:20 EDT
John McCain's nuclear proposals are largely in line with those of the unpopular President Bush, and even where the two disagree, the Republican presidential candidate has waffled.

Like the president, McCain favors extending arms control deals with Russia, opening strategic nuclear talks with China and pressing on multiple fronts to limit the spread of nuclear arms technologies.

The most notable difference is perhaps the Arizona Republican's declaration that he dreams of seeing nuclear weapons eliminated. Yet even on that point McCain equivocated by also stating in his nuclear policy speech Tuesday that "we must continue to deploy a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent."

McCain seemed to signal that stopping the illicit spread of nuclear arms technology would be more of a priority in his White House than it has under Bush, calling it a "crisis" that cannot be ended by military action alone.

McCain split with Bush by advocating the total withdrawal of U.S. and Russian short-range nuclear weapons in Europe, although the only such U.S. weapons there are a small number of aerial bombs. The vast majority of U.S. tactical nuclear arms in Europe were ordered out by the first President Bush.

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next

Chinese Dir