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Monday, August 4, 2008
GENERAL NEWS HEADLINES with excerpts
Obama reversal: backs away from
McCain's town hall challenge
Barack Obama has backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.
In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, "I think that's a great idea." In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.
Obama's reversal on town hall debates is part of a play-it-safe strategy he's adopted since claiming the nomination and grabbing a lead in national polls. Advisers to the Illinois senator, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy, say Obama is reluctant to take chances or give McCain a high-profile stage now that Obama's the front-runner.
Obama calls McCain campaign cynical but not racist
"In no way do I think John McCain's campaign was racist. I think they are cynical," Obama said Saturday. "Their team is good at creating distractions and engaging in negative attacks."
Poll: McCain's attack strategy against Obama is working
Intensified attacks by Republican John McCain on the character of his Democratic opponent have coincided with Barack Obama losing a nine percentage point advantage in a national poll, which showed the candidates running dead even over the weekend.
... Obama may have given McCain more fodder in recent days by announcing a readiness to compromise with Republicans on offshore oil drilling _ which he had opposed _ and apparently rejecting McCain's challenge to join him in a series of town hall meetings.
Lieberman, Kerry together on Meet The Press
"I'm
not going to go to that convention, the Republican convention, and
spend my time attacking Barack Obama. I'm going to go there really
talking about why I support John McCain and why I hope a lot of other
independents and Democrats will do that and frankly, I'm going to go
to a partisan convention and tell them, if I go, why it's so important
that we start to act like Americans and not as partisan mud-slingers."
"Sounds like you're going to go," replied host Tom Brokaw.
"Sounds like that to me too," agreed Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as all three men laughed.
Minn. Gov. Pawlenty: vote for Obama "is the political equivalent of bungee jumping"
"He's put so many contingencies around it that I wonder, in fact I question, whether he would do it at all," Pawlenty said after he helped open Republican campaign office in Ames. "It may be a way for him to gain favor during the election, and tube it later because all the contingencies weren't met."
THE CANDIDATES:
John McCain... today's headlines with excerpts
McCain likely to let Obama choose veep first
By waiting to make a major announcement in the window after Obama’s much-anticipated acceptance speech August 28 at Invesco Field and before he receives his party’s nomination the following week, for example, McCain would be able to quickly shift the focus of the race following the Democratic convention.
Further, these advisers say, by waiting until the end of the month he could also gauge his pick based both on who Obama selects and what the contours of the race appear to be just two months out from Election Day.
McCain and NY Times continue long bout
The latest dustup between the Republican presidential candidate and the "All the News that's fit to Print" big-name newspaper centered on the editorial board's back-to-back criticisms of McCain, one dispatch accusing him of taking the low road and another contending that he was playing politics with race...
WalMart for McCain?
The measure, called the Employee Free Choice Act, would allow labor organizations to unionize workplaces without secret ballot elections. It was co-sponsored by Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, and opposed by John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee.
Private equity fears if Romney is veep
Before he was elected governor of Massachusetts, Romney sat atop the
private equity world where major investors routinely buy troubled
companies, revamp them — often in part through layoffs — and then sell
them off for huge profits. Romney founded the private equity firm Bain
Capital, which he headed for 15 years, during which time he's
estimated to have made about $250 million.
Last year, congressional Democrats targeted the private equity sector for insults and tax increases. With a Romney vice presidential nod, those charges will go national.
Ridge does not think McCain would have abortion litmus test
On ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge reaffirmed his pro-choice position on abortion, and said he did not think Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would make it a litmus test on whom he would choose to be his running mate.
... When asked whether he thought having a pro-choice candidate at the top of a national ticket would turn off the Republican Party base, Ridge said, "I think, at the end of the day, I think the party would be comfortable with someone Sen. McCain was comfortable with. And that is ultimately his decision."
McCain, the analog candidate
Not knowing how to use a computer could reinforce a notion that Mr. McCain subscribes to the old-way-of-thinking, said Michael Feldman, a veteran of the Clinton White House and a top aide to former Vice President Al Gore. It creates a problematic “optic” for the McCain campaign, Mr. Feldman said, especially when juxtaposed with the younger Mr. Obama, frequently photographed with BlackBerry on his belt clip...
Barack Obama... today's headlines with excerpts
Pelosi pushes Texas lawmaker as Obama running mate
House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is behind on a dark horse in the
Democratic veepstakes: Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas.
"I hope he will be the nominee," Pelosi said Sunday on ABC's This Week.
Edwards, first elected in 1990 and now in his ninth term, represents Texas' 17th District, which includes Waco, College Station, Fort Hood and the small town of Crawford, where President Bush has a ranch. He serves as a senior member on the House appropriations and budget committees and has guided funding measures for military veterans.
Obama's VP pick may chafe Hillary supporters
Many of the foremost activists in the women’s movement ardently believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton should be Barack Obama’s running mate — and primary wounds that are just beginning to heal may be torn back open should the Democratic nominee select someone else, as it seems very likely he will...
Obama: seat Florida, Michigan full delegates
Barack Obama, moving to heal one of his party's
deepest wounds, called Sunday for a full seating of the
disputed
Florida and
Michigan delegations at the
Democratic National Convention.
The Democratic National Committee had cut the states' delegations as punishment for scheduling early primaries. But Democrats recognize the importance of a motivated base in those classic battlegrounds.
The delegate count for the states was one of the most contentious issues between the Clinton and Obama campaigns as the nominating contests ground down.
Obama shifts positions on off-shore drilling
Obama has opposed exposing more coastline to drilling, saying that oil companies have not fully explored the areas open to drilling now and insisting that it would have little immediate impact on prices at the pump.
After speaking to a capacity crowd at Gibbs High School auditorium in St. Petersburg, he told the Post he would be open to expanding the current drilling boundaries if it meant winning approval for more fuel-efficient cars, developing alternative energy sources and making the country more "energy independent."
see also:
Obama attempts to explain shift on off-shore drilling
Obama proposes $1000 'emergency' rebates
Obama opposes slavery reparations, apology
The man with a serious chance to become the nation's first black
president argues that government should instead combat the legacy of
slavery by improving schools, health care and the economy for all.
"I have said in the past - and I'll repeat again - that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed," the Illinois Democrat said...
Obama supporter: veep pick coming soon
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Sunday that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will choose his vice-presidential running mate soon, but reiterated that it won't be her...
Jesse Jackson Jr. want Obama's senate seat
With Sen. Barack Obama setting his sights on the White House, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is keeping an eye on Obama's Senate seat.
If Obama wins in November, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will have the responsibility to fill Obama's vacant seat.
“I wouldn’t say no if asked,” Jackson, an Illinois Democrat, told Congressional Quarterly.
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