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

Politics & Elections Politics & Elections

Plane carrying McCain security forced to land - Added 9 minutes ago

A small plane carrying Secret Service agents assigned to Republican presidential candidate John McCain made a forced landing after taking off from a Phoenix area airport Tuesday, but there were no injuries. Federal...

Obama, VP choice to campaign together Saturday - Added 1 hour ago

!!-- pobj:WIMAW102-0818081900 -->Barack Obama and his newly named running mate will campaign together Saturday at the place where the Democratic presidential hopeful formally launched his White House bid. A senior...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 1 hour ago

IN THE HEADLINES Adviser says Obama to campaign with newly named running mate Saturday in Springfield, Ill. ... McCain, Obama plan to ease partisanship on anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks ... Presidential campaigns...

Conventions blend money, parties, ethics rules - Added 1 hour ago

Barack Obama and John McCain have burnished images as politicians who keep special interests at arms' length, yet there won't be much stiff-arming at their nominating conventions. For the next two weeks _ in Denver and...

AP IMPACT: Campaigns take cash, seek details later - Added 1 hour ago

Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has consistently followed the government's instructions for keeping prohibited foreign money out of their presidential campaigns, and some of that banned money has slipped into...

Text messaging could help Obama's turnout - Added 1 hour ago

When Barack Obama announces his choice for vice president, the real payoff may come during the next few months _ one text message at a time. Obama's campaign plans to break the news of the Democratic candidate's vice...

Patriotism a pitfall for Democratic candidates - Added 1 hour ago

The political landscape is littered with Democrats whose campaigns have been hurt by questions about their patriotism. Barack Obama wants to avoid the same fate. Critics have questioned Obama's patriotism for months,...

Gregoire and Rossi win primary to set up rematch - Added 2 hours ago

!!-- pobj:WASPO101-0819081736 -->Democratic incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi easily clinched spots for the November ballot Tuesday, clearing the first hurdle in their bitter rematch for the...

McCain, Obama to silence critical ads on Sept. 11 - Added 2 hours ago

Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain plan to pull ads on Sept. 11 that criticize each other, a respite from the political fray to honor the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The campaigns made...

US Rep. Tubbs Jones hospitalized near Cleveland - Added 4 hours ago

A hospital spokeswoman says U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones has been admitted to a Cleveland-area hospital. Joyce Persuad of Huron Road Hospital in East Cleveland says Tubbs Jones was hospitalized on Tuesday. She says...

Obama: McCain 'doesn't know what he's up against' - Added 6 hours ago

A combative Barack Obama said Tuesday that Republican John McCain "doesn't know what he's up against" in this election and challenged his rival to stop questioning his character and patriotism. Obama, campaigning in a...

Obama faces new criticism on abortion - Added 6 hours ago

Painted during the Democratic primary as weak on abortion rights, Barack Obama is now being portrayed by opponents of abortion as an extremist who literally supports killing babies. Both portraits are based on his...

Arizona poll: McCain leads Obama by 10 points - Added 6 hours ago

THE RACE: The presidential race in Arizona. ___ THE NUMBERS: John McCain, 40 percent Barack Obama, 30 percent ___ OF INTEREST: More than a quarter of the respondents, 28 percent, said they were undecided. "It...

Obama bids for Western votes as key to victory - Added 7 hours ago

Americans have trekked West in search of riches for more than 150 years _ and Barack Obama is doing the same. Like the country's original frontier settlers, the Democratic presidential hopeful is driven to this...

Veep short-listers mix positives and negatives - Added 9 hours ago

When Barack Obama shows up Saturday in Springfield, Ill., on his way to the Democratic Convention, he'll have his new running mate grinning beside him. But that man or woman is still unknown, even as speculation rises...

Democratic convention to highlight "real people" - Added 9 hours ago

An Indiana railroader, an Iowa mother and a Michigan truck driver are getting a moment at the Democratic convention to help portray Barack Obama as the people's champion and counter GOP characterizations of him as an...

University won't open Obama-related records now - Added 10 hours ago

The University of Illinois on Tuesday refused to release records relating to Barack Obama's service to a nonprofit group linked to former 1960s radical activist William Ayers. The university's Chicago campus said the...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 12 hours ago

IN THE HEADLINES As speculation over veep choice grows, Obama plans to visit Ill. capital where campaign began ... McCain flies to Gulf of Mexico oil platform, calls on Obama to support offshore drilling ... Western...

Ohio says no to voting machine 'sleepovers' - Added 12 hours ago

Poll workers will not be allowed to take voting machines home for safekeeping in the days before the November presidential election because the practice known as "sleepovers" is an unacceptable security risk, the state...

Iowa poll: Obama holds narrow lead over McCain - Added 12 hours ago

THE RACE: The presidential race in Iowa. ___ THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama, 44 percent John McCain, 38 percent ___ OF INTEREST: In January, Obama finished first in Iowa's leadoff caucuses with 38 percent support from...

McCain touts drilling agenda from oil platform - Added 13 hours ago

Republican presidential candidate John McCain visited this oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday to call for increased offshore drilling that he claims would lower the cost of food and heating homes. McCain...

Sen. Feinstein breaks ankle, will skip convention - Added 13 hours ago

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California has broken her ankle and will miss next week's Democratic National Convention. Feinstein, who was one of Hillary Rodham Clinton's top supporters, was to have chaired...

Washington state, Wyoming hold state primaries - Added 14 hours ago

Washington state voters cast ballots Tuesday in a primary that would almost certainly set up the nation's most competitive governor's race with a reprise of the 2004 cliffhanger that was decided by 133 votes. Voters in...

Obama takes McCain to task on withdrawal timetable - Added 23 hours ago

Republican John McCain again insisted victory in Iraq "is finally in sight." So why, asked Democrat Barack Obama, does his presidential opponent still oppose a timetable for withdrawing American forces. The argument...

As expected, UAW endorses Obama for president - Added 1 day ago

The United Auto Workers union has given its expected endorsement to Democrat Barack Obama, while criticizing Republican John McCain as an heir to President Bush's policies. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says McCain...

McCain nets $1.75 million at Reed-linked event - Added 1 day ago

John McCain raised more than $1.75 million for Republicans Monday at a fundraiser that became high profile after a political operative connected to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff promoted it. The event was promoted...

McCain: Obama tried to legislate Iraqi failure - Added 1 day ago

John McCain told fellow veterans Monday that Democratic rival Barack Obama tried to legislate failure in Iraq and has refused to admit he erred when opposing the military increase there last year. McCain said Obama...

They're back: Harry and Louise on health insurance - Added 1 day ago

Harry and Louise are back for an encore. A series of political ads starring the fictional couple back in 1994 helped sour the public's view of President Clinton's plan for universal health coverage. Now, the two are...

W.Va. GOP nominee says he's willing to quit race - Added 1 day ago

The Republican running for West Virginia secretary of state wants to withdraw from the race in the hopes that the incumbent will take his place. But Secretary of State Betty Ireland remains firm in her decision not to...

Daschle says he won't be Obama's veep choice - Added 1 day ago

Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle said Monday there is no chance Barack Obama will pick him as a running mate. The former Senate majority leader and close adviser to the Democratic presidential candidate has turned...

The modern political convention exists to be seen - Added 1 day ago

Modern political conventions are like a Super Bowl minus the game. They are the bling on the body politic: shiny, pretty and a touch goofy. They exist to be seen, more than to do. They are like a Miss America pageant...

Rove denies calling Kagen his No. 1 target - Added 1 day ago

Rep. Steve Kagen's congressional campaign claims in a fundraising e-mail that former White House political adviser Karl Rove called him the top target this year _ but Rove says he has no recollection of ever saying...

Obama raises $7.8 million in San Francisco - Added 1 day ago

Barack Obama raked $7.8 million Sunday at three separate fundraisers in San Francisco, telling a VIP dinner crowd _ many of whom paid $28,500 to attend _ that he would win the presidency in November but to expect a...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 days ago

IN THE HEADLINES A day after hugging in church Obama tears into McCain's energy policy and campaign tactics ... Ridge says GOP would accept abortion-rights VP, though McCain view would prevail ... McCain visits Florida...

No more hugs as Obama tears into McCain - Added 2 days ago

So much for hugging in church. A day after Barack Obama and John McCain exchanged an embrace during a faith forum at a California megachurch, Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to "John McCain's president,...

McCain gets briefing on Tropical Storm Fay - Added 2 days ago

John McCain on Sunday was briefed on Tropical Storm Fay, which scuttled a political fundraiser and is threatening to reach Florida as soon as Monday. McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, visited the Orange County...

No more hugs as Obama tears into McCain - Added 2 days ago

So much for hugging in church. A day after Barack Obama and John McCain exchanged an embrace during a faith forum at a California megachurch, Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to "John McCain's president,...

Rural economic woes may provide opening for Obama - Added 2 days ago

The folks in this picturesque mountain community with red barns and Amish buggies have been voting overwhelmingly Republican in national elections for decades. But tough economic times in Mifflin County and in rural...

Obama deflects Swift Boat question - Added 2 days ago

Democrat Barack Obama met Sunday with Texas oil baron and longtime conservative activist T. Boone Pickens to discuss strategies for developing alternative energy. The presidential hopeful praised Pickens as a...

Ridge: GOP would accept abortion-rights VP - Added 2 days ago

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said Sunday he thinks Republicans would accept a vice presidential candidate who supports abortion rights. But, he said, whomever John McCain picks as a running mate should defer to...

Group wants to attack Obama on abortion - Added 2 days ago

A group purporting to tell the "real truth" about Barack Obama's views on abortion wants a judge to rule it is not subject to federal election restrictions on fundraising and advertising. The Real Truth About Obama...

Ridge: GOP would accept abortion-rights VP - Added 2 days ago

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said Sunday he thinks Republicans would accept a vice presidential candidate who supports abortion rights. But, he said, whomever John McCain picks as a running mate should defer to...

Bush tells Russia to get out of Georgia - Added 2 days ago

!!-- AUDIO:140,139,138,137,135 -->President Bush warned Russia on Saturday against trying to pry loose two separatist regions in Georgia and said Moscow must end military operations in the West-leaning democracy that...

Today on the presidential campaign trail - Added 2 days ago

IN THE HEADLINES Obama, McCain differ on abortion rights ...With $51 million in July, Obama's fundraising puts him in a strong position for fall campaign ... McCain says greatest moral shortcoming is failure to devote...

Obama, McCain differ on abortion rights - Added 3 days ago

Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain differed sharply on abortion Saturday, with McCain saying a baby's human rights begin "at conception," while Obama restated his support for legalized abortion. ...

Old legal feuds divided, linked McCain and ex-wife - Added 3 days ago

An old lawsuit on record at the city courthouse reveals a moment of friction between John McCain's mother and his ex-wife. Years later, McCain and his former wife presented a united front in a lawsuit of their own. ...

On abortion, candidates subtly seek centrist votes - Added 3 days ago

When Republican John McCain suggested his running mate could support abortion rights and Democrat Barack Obama gave an anti-abortion senator a prime convention role, both were sending a subtle message to centrist...

Obama's July fundraising bodes well for fall race - Added 3 days ago

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $51 million in July and the Democratic National Committee reported $27.7 million in donations last month, putting Obama in a strong position for the fall...

Senate races to watch as Dems seek to expand edge - Added 3 days ago

Democrats appear all but certain to expand their 51-49 Senate majority this year. Republicans are defending 23 Senate seats, including five left open by GOP retirements, while Democrats have just 12 senators up for...

Forces align against Republicans in Senate races - Added 3 days ago

Even the top Republican in charge of the party's Senate campaigns concedes that the GOP will lose seats this year _ the only question is how many. With President Bush's ratings at rock-bottom, fewer Republicans signing...