Breaking Story

Obama, McCain set to duel over economy

07.07.08 -- 5:47 AM

By Jeff Mason - Reuters

The presidential candidates will duel over the economy this week, with Republican Sen. John McCain touting proposals he says will stimulate job growth and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama discussing economic security for families.

McCain, an Arizona senator who has wrapped up his party's nomination, will embark on a tour of Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin -- all toss-up states in the November election to win the White House.

The Arizona senator spent last week on a swing through Latin America highlighting his support for free trade, prompting some observers to question why he went abroad at a time when employers cut U.S. workers from their payrolls for a sixth straight month and gasoline prices continued to sting.

Public Cool To Michelle Obama, Doesn't Know Cindy McCain

07.03.08 -- 6:43 AM

By ALAN FRAM - AP

The public hasn't taken to Michelle Obama yet, especially whites. And it's got a question about Cindy McCain: Who is she?

People are divided over whether they like the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, with 30 percent seeing her favorably and 35 percent unfavorably, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Wednesday.

They tilt positively toward the spouse of Republican hopeful John McCain, by 27 percent to 17 percent.

In other words: While the two women are about equally liked, Michelle Obama is twice as disliked as Cindy McCain.

McCain disavows aide's comment about terrorism

06.24.08 -- 5:59 AM

By GLEN JOHNSON - AP

A top adviser to John McCain said another terrorist attack on U.S. soil would be a "big advantage" for the Republican presidential candidate, drawing a sharp rebuke Monday from both the presumed GOP nominee and Democrat Barack Obama.

Charlie Black, already in the spotlight for his past lobbying work, is quoted in the upcoming July 7 edition of Fortune magazine as saying such an attack "certainly would be a big advantage to him." Black said Monday he regretted the comment.

Black is also quoted as saying the "unfortunate event" of the assassination of former Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 "helped us."

Questioned about Black's comments during a news conference, McCain said, "I cannot imagine why he would say it. It's not true. I've worked tirelessly since 9/11 to prevent another attack on the United States of America. My record is very clear."

Citing his work to establish a commission to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and his membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain added: "I cannot imagine it, and so, if he said that - and I don't know the context - I strenuously disagree."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement: "The fact that John McCain's top adviser says that a terrorist attack on American soil would be a 'big advantage' for their political campaign is a complete disgrace, and is exactly the kind of politics that needs to change. Barack Obama will turn the page on these failed policies and this cynical and divisive brand of politics so that we can unite this nation around a common purpose to finish the fight against al-Qaida."

The remarks caught McCain flat-footed on a day when he focused on energy issues - first in a speech, then at a town-hall meeting and then during a news conference as he stood beside two $100,000 electric cars. McCain offered $300 million to anyone who develops a revolutionary automobile battery, and he predicted such incentives would lower alternative energy costs.

Moments later, he was befuddled when reporters asked about Black's comments. Black was similarly surprised when reporters happened upon him outside a later McCain fundraiser.

Speaking quietly, Black read from handwritten notes. "I deeply regret the comments. They were inappropriate. I recognize that John McCain has devoted his entire adult life to protecting his country and placing its security before every other consideration," Black said.

Black repeatedly has argued that McCain - a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war who has traveled the globe while serving in Congress - benefits any time national security matters are the news of the day. By contrast, Obama has less than four years experience in the Senate and has paid only one visit to Iraq. He plans a second trip before the November election.

During the 2004 presidential race, President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans argued that Democratic nominee John Kerry was soft on terrorism; the argument resonated with voters. The GOP also questioned the Democrats' record on national security in 2002, with White House political adviser Karl Rove saying Republicans should not shy away from citing terrorism concerns as a reason to vote for their party.

The approach also paid dividends at the polls during that year's congressional elections.

The GOP line - that Democrats had a pre-Sept. 11 mind-set - failed in the 2006 midterm elections as Democrats wrested control of Congress from the Republicans.

More recently, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan wrote in a memoir that during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bush and his team tried to make the weapons of mass destruction "threat and the Iraqi connection to terrorism appear just a little more certain, a little less questionable than they were."

For his part, McCain has tried to portray Obama as naive on national security and foreign policy.

On Monday, McCain told reporters he was stunned that Obama has never been briefed by Gen. David Petraeus, who is leading U.S. forces in Iraq, yet Obama is calling for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

"Remarkable how someone can make an assessment of the situation without asking for a briefing from the commanding general," McCain said.

Analysis: McCain hampered by campaign missteps

06.22.08 -- 7:21 AM

By David Espo - AP

Call it campaign growing pains. Or bad luck. Or a combination of the two.

By any name, Sen. John McCain is hampered by missteps and self-generated controversy in the early days of the general election campaign for the White House.

Take his most recent trip through several states and the Canadian capital, a five-day span during which he courted conservatives and independents alike, raised more than $10 million and began detailing his considerable differences with Sen. Barack Obama on energy policy.

Still, on Tuesday, he criticized his rival for proposing a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. The attack was complicated by McCain's earlier statement that he would consider the same thing.

The following day, he met with a group of Hispanics in Chicago. Aides who had kept word of the event secret were placed on the defensive within hours after one participant criticized some of McCain's comments.

Obama Meets With National Security Advisory Group

06.18.08 -- 5:52 AM

By NEDRA PICKLER - AP

Barack Obama is answering a question he faced often on the campaign trail. Whom would he turn to for advice when making foreign policy decisions?

The Democratic White House hopeful has scheduled the inaugural meeting Wednesday of what he's calling his Senior Working Group on National Security. It includes former members of Congress and high-ranking Clinton administration officials.

Among them are three who advised Hillary Rodham Clinton and had served in her husband's Cabinet - former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher and former Defense Secretary William Perry.

Obama also was meeting Wednesday with nearly 40 retired admirals and generals to discuss the state of the military and the challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

3 likely candidates express little interest in VP

06.16.08 -- 5:57 AM

By Associated Press

Two former senators and one sitting governor thought to be possible candidates for vice president on Sunday expressed minimal interest in the job but didn't remove themselves from consideration.

Been there, done that, said one.

Another is focused on being Louisiana's governor.

The third said it was presumptuous to reject something not yet offered.

That was in contrast to former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner's statement Saturday removing himself from consideration as a possible running mate for Democrat Barack Obama.

"I have not sought and I will not accept any other opportunity," Warner said as he accepted the Democratic nomination for a Senate race this fall. He was one of three Virginia Democrats often mentioned as potential choices for Obama.

Analysis: Court's course in next president's hands

06.13.08 -- 6:06 AM

By David Espo - AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a campaign dominated by the economy and the Iraq War, the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling Thursday on detainees at Guantanamo marks a forceful reminder that John McCain promises one course and Barack Obama pledges another in picking future justices.

In the current controversy, McCain quickly expressed his disapproval of the opinion, while Obama issued a statement of support. It fell to outsiders to point out the broader implications in the race for the White House.

"With the replacement of a single justice from the majority ... today's four dissenters could become tomorrow's majority," said Nan Aron of the Alliance For Justice. The group supported the court's decision, which said detainees in the war on terror held at Guantanamo have the constitutional right to challenge their incarceration in the federal courts.

McCain sees right-of-center nation as he moves against Obama

05.18.08 -- 1:20 PM

By Liz Sidoti - AP

Republican John McCain's game plan for beating Democrat Barack Obama rests on one huge assumption: Despite an unpopular war, an uncertain economy and the GOP's beleaguered status, the country still leans more to the right than to the left.

"There are going to be stark choices between a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican," McCain says at nearly every turn as he seeks to portray Obama as out of step with the nation. The more the GOP nominee-in-waiting can frame the debate along those lines, and capture a larger chunk of the electorate's center, the better his chance to eke out a victory in an extraordinarily challenging political environment.

Of course, a slew of other factors will come into play, including experience, character and outside events.

Oregon race could spell end of Schumer streak

05.17.08 -- 9:57 AM

By Matthew Daly - AP

As head of the deep-pocketed Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, New York Sen. Charles Schumer hand-picked his party's nominee to take on Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, the last Republican standing on the West Coast.

But voters may have another idea.

Days before votes are counted in the Oregon primary, Schumer's choice - Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley - is in a tight battle with Portland lawyer and activist Steve Novick. Polls show the race is too close to call.

If Novick pulls off the upset, it could be a rare loss for Schumer, who acquired a reputation as a recruitment kingmaker after steering Democrats back to majority control of the Senate in 2006. This year, Schumer is working to expand that majority, with some Democrats even hoping for a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Obama criticizes McCain for 'naive' foreign policy

05.16.08 -- 7:49 PM

By Mike Glover - AP

WATERTOWN, S.D. (AP) - Barack Obama laid into John McCain on Friday for advancing a tough-guy foreign policy that he called "naive and irresponsible," serving notice that he's ready to launch a full-throttle challenge to the Republican presidential contender on international relations in the general election campaign.

Lumping McCain together with President Bush, Obama declared: "If they want a debate about protecting the United States of America, that's a debate I'm ready to win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for." He blamed Bush for policies that enhance the strength of terrorist groups such as Hamas and "the fact that al-Qaida's leadership is stronger than ever because we took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan," among other failings.

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