News For Wednesday Aug 20, 2008 News For Wednesday Aug 20, 2008

Politics & Elections Politics & Elections

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama links GOP energy policy to economic downturn; McCain pushes for more nuclear power ... Paris Hilton spoofs McCain ad and proposes a solution to nation's energy crisis ... Lehrer, Ifill, Brokaw...

Obama, McCain diverge on solution for energy woes - Added 2 weeks ago

Democrat Barack Obama blamed Republican energy policies for some of the nation's economic woes Tuesday as his GOP rival John McCain advocated a large expansion of nuclear power. Both candidates roamed the economically...

Newspaper: Black reporter booted from McCain rally - Added 2 weeks ago

A newspaper has asked John McCain's campaign why a black reporter assigned to cover a rally was singled out by security and told to leave a backstage area. Stephen Price, a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, was...

AdWatch: McCain now says country is "worse off" - Added 2 weeks ago

TITLE: "Broken." LENGTH: 60 seconds. AIRING: In the 11 states where McCain is running ads. SCRIPT: Announcer: "Washington's broken. John McCain knows it. We're worse off than we were four years ago. Only McCain has...

Obama leads McCain nationally in AP-Ipsos poll - Added 2 weeks ago

Solid margins among women, minorities and young voters have powered Barack Obama to a 6 percentage point lead over John McCain in the presidential race, according to a poll released Tuesday. Obama is ahead of his...

Presidential debate commission chooses moderators - Added 2 weeks ago

The Commission on Presidential Debates on Tuesday named Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill of PBS, Tom Brokaw of NBC News and Bob Schieffer of CBS News as moderators of the three presidential debates and one vice presidential...

Six Republican senators to skip GOP convention - Added 2 weeks ago

Will he or won't he? Vice President Dick Cheney is one of the nation's most prominent Republicans, but there are doubts about whether he will attend the GOP convention. Cheney press secretary Megan Mitchell left the...

McCain ad pushes independence, distance from Bush - Added 2 weeks ago

John McCain conceded in a new television commercial on Tuesday that "we're worse off than we were four years ago," and said he is the candidate best positioned to usher in an era of change. "Washington's broken. John...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama links GOP energy policy to economic downturn; McCain pushes for more nuclear power ... Obama casts McCain as backer of Cheney's oil policies, overlooks own support of energy bill ... Obama ahead...

Hillary Clinton sets campaign dates for Obama - Added 2 weeks ago

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to campaign for Barack Obama in Nevada and Florida this month, events expected to be her first solo campaign appearances for Obama since she lost the Democratic nomination contest. The...

Man heckles Obama about Pledge of Allegiance - Added 2 weeks ago

A man who wore press credentials and took photographs from a platform interrupted Barack Obama's town-hall meeting Tuesday by shouting complaints that the Democratic presidential candidate had not called for the...

Critical of McCain, Obama quiet on own energy vote - Added 2 weeks ago

Democratic candidate Barack Obama criticized Republican John McCain on Tuesday for taking a page out of "the Cheney playbook" on energy, overlooking his own support of oil-friendly policies that the unpopular vice...

How the AP-Ipsos poll was taken - Added 2 weeks ago

The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on the 2008 presidential race and President Bush was conducted July 31- Aug. 4, 2008. It is based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative random sample of 1,002 adults...

Play of the Day: Torn between peaches and fritters - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:OHAB122-0805081215 -->Ah, the choices when shopping for fruits, sweets and votes. "I think this is the ticket right here. I might have to get a bag of those," Barack Obama said Tuesday as he pointed to a...

Negativity the norm in presidential campaign - Added 2 weeks ago

For all the talk about John McCain's hard-hitting politics, Barack Obama is hardly innocent. Both candidates and their allies are fully engaged in creating unflattering caricatures of each other that they hope will...

Young people finding Obama way cooler than McCain - Added 2 weeks ago

Forget the war for the White House for a moment. Among young people, Barack Obama appears to be beating John McCain in the battle for "cool." "Obama is a tad cooler than McCain on probably 57 fronts," said Emily...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

IN THE HEADLINES McCain visits motorcycle rally as he buttresses his campaign outreach ... Obama embraces some offshore drilling and tapping petroleum stockpiles ... Obama's 47th birthday celebration includes serenade...

Obama backs some drilling, tapping oil stockpile - Added 2 weeks ago

Barack Obama put forward a broad energy plan Monday designed to end U.S. reliance on imported oil within 10 years and shore up his standing amid a tightening White House race and high anxiety over gas prices. Obama's...

Well-heeled serenade Obama on his 47th birthday - Added 2 weeks ago

It may take a few months for Barack Obama's birthday wish to come true. The expected Democratic presidential nominee turned 47 on Monday and shared his special day with hundreds of friends and other admirers, who paid...

McCain visiting motorcycle rally, nuke power plant - Added 2 weeks ago

Thousands of motorcyclists greeted Republican presidential candidate John McCain with an approving roar Monday as he sought blue-collar and heartland support by visiting a giant motorcycle rally. "As you may know, not...

Fact Check: Properly inflated tires cut gas use - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:FLORL104-0801081756 -->John McCain and his Republican Party are gleefully mocking Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's suggestion that properly inflated tires could help save oil. The thing is,...

Michelle Obama describes duty as mother-in-chief - Added 2 weeks ago

Forget the pearls. Michelle Obama says her best accessory is her husband. "Barack and I _ as partners, as friends and as lovers _ we accessorize each other in many ways," said Obama, wife of Democratic presidential...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama proposes tapping nation's oil reserves to help drive down gasoline prices ... McCain visiting motorcycle rally, nuclear power plant as he buttresses his campaign outreach ... Former President...

Obama proposes tapping oil stockpiles - Added 2 weeks ago

Barack Obama put forward a broad energy plan Monday designed to end U.S. reliance on imported oil within 10 years and shore up his standing amid a tightening White House race and high-anxiety over gas prices. Obama's...

AdWatch: Obama's ad tells only part of the story - Added 2 weeks ago

TITLE: "Pocket" LENGTH: 30 seconds. AIRING: Running in rotation in the 18 states where Obama is already running ads SCRIPT: Announcer: "Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets. Now big...

Kennedy tapes video for Democratic convention - Added 2 weeks ago

Sen. Edward Kennedy will have a presence at the Democratic National Convention even if he can't make it to Denver. A Kennedy spokeswoman said Monday that the Massachusetts senator taped a five-minute video over the...

Obama makes bid in 7 longtime Republican states - Added 2 weeks ago

Alaska is young. Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia have growing populations and many black voters. Montana has seen recent Democratic inroads, and North Dakota has sent only Democrats to Congress since 1986. Indiana...

Paris Hilton's mom takes offense at McCain's humor - Added 2 weeks ago

Paris Hilton's mother doesn't share John McCain's sense of humor. McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said last week that his campaign ad mocking Democrat Barack Obama with images of Hilton and singer...

Poll: McCain's attack strategy paying dividends - Added 2 weeks ago

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...

Campaigns spar over drilling as leadership issue - Added 2 weeks ago

The different paths John McCain and Barack Obama have taken to support expanded offshore drilling for oil demonstrate how each would govern as president, their supporters said Sunday. McCain surrogates contended on the...

Detroit mayor's mother in tight congressional race - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:MIDTF101-0725081653 -->!!-- pobj:MIDTF102-0725081652 -->!!-- pobj:MIDTF103-0725081652 -->!!-- pobj:MIDTF105-0725081652 -->Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's name will not appear on primary ballots Tuesday in...

Obama says give Fla. and Mich. delegates full vote - Added 2 weeks ago

Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president, he wants convention delegates from Florida and Michigan to have full voting rights at the party's national convention. Obama sent a letter...

Democratic platform embraces Obama's change theme - Added 2 weeks ago

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters lobbied Democratic leaders Sunday to include the failed presidential candidate's ideas on health care, even as officials fine-tuned the party platform for nominee-in-waiting...

New presidential campaign battleground states - Added 2 weeks ago

ALASKA: Last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: 1964 Electoral votes: 3 2004 margin: George Bush, 61 percent; John Kerry, 36 percent 2000 margin: George Bush, 59 percent; Al Gore, 28 percent Governor:...

Pelosi pushes Texas lawmaker as Obama running mate - Added 2 weeks ago

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...

POW status was key factor in McCain's first race - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:WX111-1102821636 -->A newcomer to Arizona, John McCain used his wife's wealth, ties to powerful Washington figures and, most of all, the emotional power of his five years in a Vietnamese prison to launch his...

GOP convention attracting array of demonstrators - Added 2 weeks ago

A 73-year-old retired surgeon marching in silence with a tombstone picturing a soldier killed in Iraq. A philosophy professor calling for a new investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A long-haul trucker from...

In veep search, McCain asks Cantor for records - Added 2 weeks ago

John McCain's campaign has asked Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for personal documents as the Republican presidential candidate steps up his search for a running mate, The Associated Press has learned. Cantor, 45, the chief...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:FLORL101-0801081745 -->IN THE HEADLINES Playing it safe, Obama steps back from McCain's challenge for a series of summer debates ... Obama blames cynicism, not racism, for McCain strategy that he says...

Platform writers draw ideas from Obama, Clinton - Added 2 weeks ago

Platform writers for Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton worked side-by-side Saturday as the Democratic Party developed a policy statement to promote nominee-in-waiting Obama and keep Clinton backers involved. The...

Obama backs away from McCain's debate challenge - Added 2 weeks ago

Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday 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...

Obama accuses McCain camp of cynicism, not racism - Added 2 weeks ago

Republican candidate John McCain's presidential campaign is cynical, not racist, in its efforts to distract voters from real issues, Democratic rival Barack Obama said Saturday. "In no way do I think that John McCain's...

Obama opposes reparations for slavery - Added 2 weeks ago

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders. The man with a serious chance to become the nation's...

Writer offered a young Barack Obama advice on life - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:WXSC101-0611081438 -->!!-- pobj:WXSC102-0324070048 -->!!-- pobj:WXSC104-0611081436 -->!!-- pobj:WXSC103-0611081606 -->!!-- pobj:WXSC105-0611081531 -->At key moments in his adolescence, Barack Obama could not...

McCain and N.Y. Times continue a long-running bout - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:FLORL101-0801081745 -->It is a tradition at many kitchen tables to yell at the newspaper. At John McCain's kitchen table, it is becoming a tradition to yell at one paper in particular: The New York Times. The...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama endorses energy compromise that includes additional offshore drilling ... McCain depicts Obama as too close to teacher's union and against school choice for the poor ... Wal-Mart denies warning...

McCain chides Obama over school vouchers - Added 2 weeks ago

John McCain, the father of private school students, criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday for choosing private over public school for his kids. The difference, according to the Arizona Republican, is that...

Democratic platform writers reach out to Clinton - Added 2 weeks ago

Supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton drafting the Democratic platform displayed a get-along, unified front Friday as the party looks to put the bruising presidential primary campaign behind it. The...

McCain defends Web ad mocking Obama - Added 2 weeks ago

Republican John McCain on Friday defended his campaign's new Web ad mocking Barack Obama as a presumptuous messianic figure, saying it was important to "display a sense of humor" in the presidential contest. The new...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 weeks ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama calls for $1,000 energy rebates to be paid with windfall profits tax on the oil industry ... McCain depicts Obama as too close to teachers unions ... Obama's fundraisers helping finance...