News For Sunday Oct 12, 2008 News For Sunday Oct 12, 2008

Politics & Elections Politics & Elections

McCain and Obama support cut in interest rates - Added 4 days ago

Statements by presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama on the Federal Reserve's action Wednesday to cut interest rates. ___ I applaud the move by the Open Market Committee of the...

Analysis: Obama, McCain defy stereotypes in debate - Added 4 days ago

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain tried to rectify perceived shortcomings and played against type at key moments in Tuesday's presidential debate, but neither seemed to change a campaign dynamic that...

Early voters start casting ballots in New Mexico - Added 4 days ago

It was only midmorning on the first day of absentee voting, but 200 people had already shown up to cast their ballots at the clerk's office in Bernalillo County, New Mexico's most populous. "All indications are folks...

US House race in NM pits oilman against rancher - Added 4 days ago

Small details matter to rancher Ed Tinsley, the Republican nominee in the 2nd Congressional District race. He'll pore over contracts, analyzing fine print to ensure he understands what he's studying. It's a trait...

Wis. judicial panel: Punish new judge for false ad - Added 4 days ago

!!-- pobj:WIRAC501-0215081527 -->State regulators say a Willie Horton-style campaign ad that suggested the first black member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court freed a child molester played so loose with the truth that the...

W.Va. ag chief running for 11th 4-year term - Added 4 days ago

The longest serving state agriculture commissioner in the nation is running for another four years. His opponent says 40 years in office is long enough. But 81-year-old Gus Douglass says he still has plenty of work to...

Fact check: Obama, McCain twist records - Added 4 days ago

Republican John McCain expressed incredulity in the presidential debate Tuesday that Democrat Barack Obama would tip off the enemy by saying publicly that he'd attack al-Qaida in Pakistan under certain conditions....

Body language: confident Obama, combative McCain - Added 4 days ago

The McCains and the Obamas moved about the stage separately for a little while after their debate, greeting people on the stage, but not each other. Then John McCain tapped Barack Obama's back briefly and Obama turned...

Gore toasts Obama at fundraiser - Added 4 days ago

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama switched from debater to fundraiser Tuesday night, making a brief appearance at a late-night gathering at Al Gore's Tennessee home. Organizers said between 300 and 350...

Town hall debate keeps Brokaw busy - Added 4 days ago

After Gwen Ifill seemed frustrated at losing control of last week's vice presidential debate, Tom Brokaw seemed determined not to let that happen Tuesday with John McCain and Barack Obama. The veteran NBC anchor was...

Brown, Schweitzer clash over energy, economy - Added 4 days ago

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his Republican challenger, state Sen. Roy Brown, continued to grapple over the pace of energy development, whether taxes are too high and if Montana can weather the economic downturn as...

Palin's family ties include FDR, Princess Diana - Added 4 days ago

Barack Obama and Dick Cheney are not the only political odd couple who share a family tree. Sarah Palin is linked in her lineage to Franklin Roosevelt. She also has a connection with Princess Diana. Roosevelt, the...

Debate quotes from McCain, Obama - Added 4 days ago

Quotes from Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois during their second presidential debate on Tuesday at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.: ___ On mortgages: McCAIN:...

McCain linked to group in Iran-Contra affair - Added 4 days ago

Republican Sen. John McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group linked to ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America in the 1980s. The U.S. Council for World Freedom also...

Palin speaks with group of reporters - Added 4 days ago

After weeks of limited contact with the news media, Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin ventured to the back of her campaign plane Tuesday and answered several questions from reporters. The Alaska governor...

State reviewing per diem payments to Palin - Added 4 days ago

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's practice of charging the state when she stays in her home must be reviewed to determine if she should pay taxes on the payments, state Finance Director Kim Garnero said Tuesday. Palin, the...

Obama money from abroad could total $3.3 million - Added 4 days ago

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has raised about $3.3 million from contributors who did not list a home state or who designated their state with an abbreviation that did not match one of the 50 states or...

ACORN office in Vegas raided in voter-fraud probe - Added 5 days ago

Nevada authorities seized records Tuesday from a group they accused of submitting fraudulent voter-registration forms _ including for the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys. "Tony Romo is not registered to vote in...

Palin stretches truth in campaign speeches - Added 5 days ago

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tells audiences the election is about the "truthfulness and judgment" needed to be president. But the Alaska governor often stretches the truth herself. She has...

Feds question new voter checks in 6 states - Added 5 days ago

Federal officials have asked election officials in six states to investigate whether social security number checks are being improperly run on people registering to vote. Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue...

Obama wishes he had more time for staying fit - Added 5 days ago

Barack Obama says he wishes he had more time for staying fit. And the Democratic presidential candidate admits that he still occasionally smokes a cigarette. "Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts,"...

UAW launches advertising campaign against McCain - Added 5 days ago

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Tuesday the union would run $3 million worth of advertising criticizing Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his economic policies in four key states. ...

NY Gov. Paterson says he'll seek full term in 2010 - Added 5 days ago

New York Gov. David Paterson says he will run in 2010 for a full term in the office he has held since Eliot Spitzer resigned. Paterson on Tuesday also launched a new political Web site that solicits campaign donations...

Schwarzenegger to candidates: Get back to issues - Added 5 days ago

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the presidential candidates should end the smear campaigns and get back to the issues. Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are wasting time making...

Obama camp cites SC school invites to Ayers - Added 5 days ago

Barack Obama's campaign is citing the University of South Carolina's speaking invitations to William Ayers and Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's role as school trustee to counter GOP efforts to link the presidential...

Record Pa. voter registration pads Democrats' edge - Added 5 days ago

Democratic registration has surged by 13 percent and Republican ranks have shrunk by 1 percent as a record 8.6 million people in battleground Pennsylvania registered to vote in the presidential election. Last-minute...

Spokesman calls Conn. campaign win a 'lost cause' - Added 5 days ago

The spokesman for a Connecticut congressional candidate is learning that not everything is private on the Internet. On Sept. 30, a University of Connecticut poll showed Republican Sean Sullivan trailing Democratic U.S....

Analysis: McCain's contrition ends over Keating - Added 5 days ago

Nearly 20 years of John McCain's contrition over his role in a 1980s banking scandal vanished this week in 17 minutes and 30 seconds. It took that long for John Dowd, McCain's lawyer in the Keating Five investigation,...

Gay candidates anticipate breakthroughs on Nov. 4 - Added 5 days ago

!!-- pobj:CODER501-0812081356 -->In his liberal Colorado district, it's no big deal that Jared Polis is gay. Yet his expected victory Nov. 4 in a congressional race would be a historic milestone and, he hopes, send an...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 5 days ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama hopes to cement gains in debate; McCain tries to make up ground amid economic crisis ... Supreme Court turns down Barr's request for help in Louisiana ... Palin's promise of transparency in...

Palin pledges of Alaska sunshine marred by secrets - Added 5 days ago

Sarah Palin's promise for a new era of government openness as the reform governor of Alaska started to crack even before Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign built a wall of protectiveness around her. Palin was...

Cindy Sheehan finds a bit of peace in candidacy - Added 5 days ago

"Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan may finally have found some in her long-shot independent challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. When the anti-war activist speaks in California's 8th District, no one boos or shouts...

Polls: Obama leads in Ohio and Wis., tied in Ind. - Added 5 days ago

THE POLL: Washington Post-ABC News poll of 772 likely Ohio voters (20 electoral votes). THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama, 51 percent; John McCain, 45 percent. OF INTEREST: Obama's lead revolves around the worry about the...

McCain revisiting Keating 5 banking scandal again - Added 5 days ago

Nearly two decades later, John McCain is still haunted by his role in the Keating Five scandal. His role in the 1980s banking scandal is featured in a new Barack Obama attack video. McCain's presidential campaign...

Officials find, fix glitch in NM voting machine - Added 5 days ago

A glitch that would have kept votes from being counted in the presidential and other top-of-the-ticket races was discovered during a pre-election check of a voting machine in Santa Fe County, officials said. The error...

Gay marriage ban attracts big money in Calif. - Added 5 days ago

Supporters and opponents of a ballot initiative that would outlaw same-sex marriage in California have poured $41.2 million into the race, more than the combined total spent in the 24 states where similar measures have...

Montana governor's race features old foes - Added 5 days ago

!!-- pobj:MTHEL501-1101071333 -->Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his Republican challenger have both called for increased energy development, lower taxes and a more open state government. Schweitzer points to last...

Tax-cutting questions appear on ballots next month - Added 5 days ago

For years, Massachusetts was known derisively as "Taxachusetts." But voters could help shed that label in November by completely eliminating the state's income tax in a single stroke. If approved, the ballot initiative...

Palin pledges of Alaska sunshine marred by secrets - Added 5 days ago

Sarah Palin's promise for a new era of government openness as the reform governor of Alaska started to crack even before Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign built a wall of protectiveness around her. Palin was...

McCain's stance against pork a balancing act - Added 5 days ago

It's one of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's most surefire applause lines, a vow to veto pork barrel spending like the road and bridge projects that lawmakers hold dear. "You will know their names. I...

Ex-DNC chief stumps for Obama but eyes Va. race - Added 5 days ago

Barnstorming Virginia to fire up Democrats for Barack Obama's presidential bid is something Terry McAuliffe says comes naturally for him. That would be the same Barack Obama he worked to defeat a few months ago when he...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 5 days ago

IN THE HEADLINES Town hall debate offers McCain one of his last best chances to turn the race around ... McCain link to private group in Iran-Contra case resurfaces ... As deadline nears, Alaska officials keep quiet...

Character attacks emerge in McCain-Obama race - Added 5 days ago

The two men who supposedly exemplified a different kind of politics are engaged in an increasingly bitter campaign as character attacks are emerging to compete with issues like the troubled economy. With the election...

Palin criticizes Obama's ties to Wright, Ayers - Added 5 days ago

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin expanded her attack on Democrat Barack Obama's character Monday to include his relationship with an incendiary former pastor as well as his ties to 1960s-era radical...

Hagel's wife to back Obama - Added 5 days ago

The wife of Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to endorse Democrat Barack Obama. Lilibet Hagel has scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday with Susan Eisenhower, the granddaughter of...

Turnout light in Ohio early voting window - Added 5 days ago

A weeklong period in which Ohioans could register to vote and immediately cast a ballot ended Monday with turnout that didn't quite match the expectations of election officials _ or the campaign predictions that...

Debate stakes higher for McCain as insults mount - Added 5 days ago

Running short on time, John McCain has the most riding on the second presidential debate, though Barack Obama will be out of his scripted comfort zone in the town hall-style confrontation. It could be ugly if Monday's...

Obama awarded Illinois grants to relative's group - Added 5 days ago

As a state senator, Democrat Barack Obama awarded $75,000 in government grants to a Chicago social service organization led by a rabbi who is also his wife's cousin, records show. In 1999, Obama arranged for $50,000...

Palin ethics probes beset by secrecy and lawsuit - Added 5 days ago

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she's an open book regarding an abuse-of-power investigation. Apparently her staff doesn't feel the same way. While the Alaska governor has waived her privacy...

GOP files FEC complaint about Obama's fundraising - Added 5 days ago

The Republican National Committee filed a complaint Monday alleging that Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign has received illegal contributions from foreigners and donations that exceed federal limits. The...