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HavenWorks.com/illinois - Illinois News |
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 US
States
Illinois capital: Springfield US
Capitals
IL: Illinois ILL. State
Abbr.
Illinois state is bordered by the states of Indiana (east), Kentucky (southeast), Missouri, Iowa (west), and Wisconsin (north).  
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 Illinois
 Barack
Obama -  Media
-  Politics
-  Investigation
-  History
- Illinois
"Media Matters: Media pick up where they left off 8 years ago." ... "To anyone who lived through the media feeding frenzy of the 1990s, during which the nation's leading news organizations spent the better part of a decade destroying their own credibility by relentlessly hyping a series of non-scandals, the past few days, in which the media have tried to shoehorn [Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama into the [Illinois Democratic Governor] Rod Blagojevich scandal, have been sickeningly familiar." ... "Whenever reporters think -- or want you to think -- they've uncovered a presidential scandal, they waste little time in comparing it to previous controversies." ... "Perhaps the most striking aspect of the media's attempts to link Obama to the Blagojevich scandal has been the volume of news reports that are purely speculative -- and not only speculative, but vaguely speculative. That is, they don't even consist of conjecture about specific potential wrong doing. They simply consist of completely baseless speculation that Obama might in some way become caught up in the investigation at some point in the future, for some reason. It's little more than, "Maybe Obama will be involved." Well, sure. And maybe he'll play shortstop for the Washington Nationals [baseball team] next year." ... "If you want to make a "scandal" stick to someone despite the inconvenient truth that they aren't actually guilty of the purported wrongdoing in question, one thing you do -- if you're the media covering a Democratic president, or an overzealous conservative -- is continually expand the scandal's definition. So the "scandal" grows and evolves into an amorphous mass of innuendo as political opponents and journalists begin throwing everything against the wall, hoping something will stick." ... "If the news media regains a bit of the skepticism so many of them set aside for the past eight years, that would be an unequivocally good thing, and it should be applauded." ... "But this week brought signs that much of the media is set to resume the absurd and shameful behavior that defined the 1990s -- guilt by association, circular analysis whereby they ask baseless questions about non-scandals, then claim they have to report on the "scandal" because the White House is "besieged by questions," grotesque leaps of logic, downplaying exculpatory information, and too many other failings to list." ... "If that happens -- if the media continue to behave as they did in covering Whitewater -- they will damage the country. It's really that simple. We cannot afford to be distracted from serious problems by overheated conjecture and baseless insinuation masquerading as journalism." ... "That's how the media behaved the last time we had a Democratic president. They devoted wall-to-wall coverage to invented "scandals," ignored exculpatory evidence, saw evidence of guilt everywhere, took people out of context in order to accuse them of lying, and generally behaved like a pack of wild animals who couldn't tell right from wrong or truth from fiction -- or who simply didn't care. As a group, they behaved without ethical standards and without regard for the truth." ... "It's our responsibility -- all of us -- to make sure it doesn't happen again." -By Jamison Foser -MediaMatters.org 
Illinois
-  Law
- Enforcement
-  Nevada
"All 50 Dem Senators Call On Blagojevich To Step Down." ... "Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean issued a statement calling for Blagojevich's resignation:" "The arrest of and complaint against [Illinois Democratic Governor] Gov. Blagojevich raises serious concerns about his ability to effectively represent the people of Illinois. The conduct alleged represents a disgraceful abuse of the public trust. In the interest of the people of Illinois and all Americans, he should resign immediately. If he does not, I hope the Illinois legislature will take action.""All fifty members of the Democratic Senate caucus have signed [Nevada Democratic Senator and] Majority Leader Harry Reid's letter calling on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to step down from his post and refrain from appointing anyone to the vacated Illinois Senate seat, a source confirms." ... "It is also the first public indication that the Senate will take constitutional provisions to untangle any political appointment made by the embattled governor -- a legal maneuver that various scholars have said is well within the body's rights." ... "Here is the complete letter." "Dear Governor Blagojevich:"" -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
Barack
Obama - Illinois
-  Money
- Legislation
- Media
- Politics
"Obama's support of ethics reform is good news for the GOP [GOP=Republican Party]...." ... "Seriously, I'm trying to get my arms around this new story on the Blagojevich scandal that the New York Times [by Mike McIntire and Jeff Zeleny] has put out there. The lede of the article is tantalizing:" "In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of [Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, [Illinois Democratic Governor] Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.""OK, so what I'm getting from that is that Barack Obama supports ethics in government, that he doesn't think state contractors should be making large campaign contributions. Hey, that's a good thing, right?" ... "Right?" ... "Uh, according to the New York Times, not necessarily:" "Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics, by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him to draw strength from his relationships with important players without becoming compromised by their many weaknesses."""Beyond the irony of its outcome..."? Huh? How about...beyond the irony of the fact that an Obama phone call for an ethics reform bill -- strongly opposed by none other than Rod Blagojevich -- is an excuse to somehow tie him to the "murky" world of Chicago politics. Look (as Obama himself might say), there's some interesting new information in this Times article, but their basic perspective is all upside-down wrong." ... "Did it occur to them that maybe Obama was elected 44th president of the United States exactly because he HAS escaped "the murky and insular world of Illinois politics"? When people ask why would someone like Obama involve himself in Chicago politics, the bottom line is Chicago is where he lived -- he moved there to organize laid-off steelworkers, got a job there and then even married a Windy City native." -Philly.com -By Will Bunch 
Illinois
-  Factory
- Company
- Politics
-  Federal
- Law
"Workers win a big round in Chicago factory sit-in." ... "The creditor of a Chicago [Illinois] plant where laid-off employees are conducting a sit-in to demand severance pay said Tuesday it would extend limited loans to the factory so it could resolve the dispute, but the workers declared their protest unfinished." ... "The Republic Windows and Doors factory closed last week after Bank of America canceled its financing." ... "Bank of America has been criticized for cutting off the plant's credit after taking federal bailout money itself." ... "Workers, who received just three days' notice before the plant shut down on Friday, argue that the company violated federal law because employees were not given 60 days' notice that they were losing their jobs." -By Michael Tarm -AP via -Yahoo 
Barack
Obama - Illinois
- Politics
- Federal
- Investigation
"Fitzgerald: No evidence Obama knew of Blagojevich's scheme." ... "Illinois [Democratic Governor] Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of trying to trade [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat for a lucrative job in the future Obama administration." ... "Chicago [Illinois, United States] U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor who brought the charges, described the allegations against Blagojevich as a "political corruption crime spree," but emphasized that he had no evidence Obama was aware of the scheme." ... "Blagojevich was aware he was already under federal investigation for other pay-to-play allegations even as he speculated how he could sell the senate seat, the affidavit said." ... "The 76-page affidavit, which quotes lengthy taped phone and office conversations, appears to indicate that Obama’s advisers were not receptive to the scheme. In one passage, Blagojevich allegedly says he knew Obama wanted an unnamed "Senate Candidate 1" for the seat but that "they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F--- them."" -By Marisa Taylor -McClatchyDC.com [PDF] 78-page FBI affidavit via ChicagoTribune 
Barack
Obama -  People
- Politics
- Illinois
-  Hawaii
-  US
-  Indonesia
-  Kenya
"Obama's Fascinating Interview with Cathleen Falsani." ... "The most detailed and fascinating explication of [Democratic President-Elect] Barack Obama's faith came in a 2004 interview he gave Chicago Sun Times columnist Cathleen Falsani when he was running for U.S. Senate in Illinois." ... "Because of how controversial that interview became, Falsani has graciously allowed us [Beliefnet.com] to print the full conversation here." ... "FALSANI: What do you believe?" ... "OBAMA: I am a Christian." ... "So, I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith." ... "On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there are a lot of Eastern influences." ... "I lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, between the ages of six and 10." ... "My father was from Kenya, and although he was probably most accurately labeled an agnostic, his father was Muslim." ... "And I'd say, probably, intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith." ... "So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived." -Beliefnet.com 
Barack
Obama -  Madelyn
Dunham - Business
-  Woman
-  Grandmother
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama's Grandmother Described As 'Strong Willed': Senator Leaves Campaign Trail To Make Visit." ... "Those who know Madelyn Dunham said throughout her life she has been "strong willed" and ambitious." ... "Dunham's health has slowly deteriorated and during his recent visit to Hawaii [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama spoke about his grandmother's condition." ... ""Her body is not in great shape she has osteoporosis which means she can't travel. She can't sit for a long periods of time on the plane so that's why it is so important for me to take these trips back to Hawaii," Obama said." ... "Barack Obama since he was 10." ... "Dunham turns 86 on Sunday." ... "University of Hawaii professor Alice Dewey is a longtime friend of the Obamas and remembers Dunham's tenacity." ... ""She was a very determined person as you began to get to know her she knew her mind and followed her principles," Dewey said." ... "Dunham was one of the first women vice presidents at the Bank of Hawaii. Co-workers said she was a well respected business woman." -KITV.com
Barack
Obama - Madelyn
Dunham - Grandmother
-  Health
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama coming to Hawaii to visit ailing grandmother." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs announced that the senator will head to Hawaii Thursday to see his 86-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who is seriously ill." ... "She was released from the hospital last week and is at her home on Oahu [Hawaii]. Obama plans to return to the campaign on Saturday." ... "In a statement Gibbs said: "[Illinois] Senator Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has always been one of the most important people in his life. Along with his mother and his grandfather, she raised him in Hawaii from the time he was born until the moment he left for college. As he said at the Democratic Convention, she poured everything she had into him." ... ""Recently, his grandmother has become ill, and in the last few weeks, her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious. It is for that reason that Senator Obama has decided to change his schedule on Thursday and Friday so that he can see her and spend some time with her. He will be returning the the campaign trail on Saturday."" -KHNL.com 
Barack
Obama -  John
McCain -  Terrorism
- History
- Illinois
-  Pennsylvania- 2008
Election
"Obama charges McCain trying to divide country." ... "[2008 Election Democratic] Presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday accused Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain of trying to divide the country, but he let fellow Democrats handle harsher attacks while he kept his message mostly upbeat." ... "Speaking to an outdoor audience, Obama said "it's not hard to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division." He said Americans want "someone who can lead this country" with a steady hand in a time of economic crisis, not divide it." ... "Echoing McCain's "country first" motto, Obama said, "Now more than ever it is time to put country ahead of politics."" ... "With little more than three weeks before the election, the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] presidential candidate is seeking to turn his campaign around by steadily escalating his attacks on his Democratic foe and raising questions about his associations with [William] Ayers, who in 1969 helped found the violent Weather Underground group blamed for bombing government buildings in the early 1970s[.]" ... "The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Obama and Ayers are not close but that they live in the same Chicago [Illinois] neighborhood and worked together on two nonprofit organization boards from the mid-1990s to 2002. Ayers also hosted a small meet-the-candidate event for Obama in 1995 as he first ran for the state Senate." ... "During the campaign, Obama has denounced Ayers' radical actions and views." ... "In an interview with Philadelphia[ Pennsylvania]-based radio talk show host Michael Smerconish, Obama said Thursday that when he met Ayers in the mid-1990s Ayers was teaching education the University of Illinois." ... ""I was sitting on this board with a whole bunch conservative businessmen and civic leaders and he was one of the people who was on this board," Obama said of the Annenberg Challenge, a nonprofit educational group [funded by Republican billionaire Walter Annenberg]. "Ultimately I ended up learning about the fact that he had engaged in this reprehensible act 40 years ago, but I was eight years old at the time and I assumed that he had been rehabilitated."" (1, 2) -AP via -MSNBC
John
McCain - Barack
Obama -  Sarah
Palin - Terrorism
- Language
- Pennsylvania
- Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"McCain's attacks fuel dangerous hatred." ... "2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence." ... "At a [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin rally, someone called out, "Kill him!" At one of your rallies, someone called out, "Terrorist!" Neither was answered or denounced by you or your running mate, as the crowd laughed and cheered. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa. [Pennsylvania], the crowd was seething with hatred for the Democratic nominee - an attitude encouraged in speeches there by you, your running mate, your wife and the local Republican chairman." ... "Shame!" ... "John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain." ... "You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate." ... "Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs." ... "John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations." -By Frank Schaeffer -BaltimoreSun
John
McCain - Barack
Obama - Illinois
-  Arizona
-  New
Hampshire - 2008
Election
"Obama aide: McCain campaign 'sleaziest' in modern history." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's spokesman on Saturday accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain of "cynically running the sleaziest and least honorable campaign in modern presidential campaign history."" ... "Obama, speaking to a crowd Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire, said, "John McCain wants to have a debate about national security; let's have that debate. I warned that going into Iraq would distract us from Afghanistan. John McCain cheerleaded for it. John McCain was wrong, and I was right."" ... ""The McCain-[Sarah] Palin ticket, they don't want to debate the Obama-Biden ticket on issues because they are running on eight more years of what we've just seen. And they know it," the Democratic presidential nominee said. "As a consequence, what they're going to spend the next seven, eight weeks doing is trying to distract you." ... ""They're going to talk about pigs, and they're going to talk about lipstick; they're going to talk about Paris Hilton, they're going to talk about Britney Spears. They will try to distort my record, and they will try to undermine your trust in what the Democrats intend to do." -CNN
Barack
Obama - Sarah
Palin -  Giuliani
- Religion
-Politics
- People
-  Workers
- Poverty
- Justice
- Illinois
- 2008
Election
"What a Community Organizer Does." ... "This morning, I received a press release from a group called Catholic Democrats about the work--the mission, the witness--that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama performed after he got out of college. Here's the first paragraph:" "Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent's work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice."... "So here is what [Republican Rudy] Giuliani and [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah] Palin didn't know: Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed--job training, help with housing and so forth--from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord's work--the sort of mission Jesus preached (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a "task from God.")" -By Joe Klein -Time-Blog.com 
Barack
Obama - Family
- Hawai'i
- 
- Journalist
-Politics
-  Military
-  Sports
- Illinois
- 2008
Election
"Akaka defends Obama's Hawaii vacation from ABC commentator: Journalist questions [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama's vacation in 'foreign' destination." ... "A group called Asian Americans for Obama sent out a media alert yesterday with the headline, "BREAKING: Hawai'i is a State," as U.S. [Unisted States Hawaii Democratic Senator] Sen. Daniel Akaka and others defended U.S. [Illinois Democratic Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's decision to spend a weeklong vacation in the Islands." ... "Obama had another casual day yesterday: Visit his grandmother at her Makiki apartment again, watch a movie at the Ward Complex theaters and go to dinner. But his choice of vacation destinations — his hometown of Honolulu — prompted [Disney TV's] ABC News' Cokie Roberts to twice call Hawai'i a "foreign" and "exotic" vacation destination for the man who wants to be president." ... ""I know his grandmother lives in Hawai'i," Roberts said on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. "And I know Hawai'i is a state. But it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place. He should be in Myrtle Beach if he's going to take a vacation at this time."" ... "But Akaka didn't see any humor in Roberts' comments." ... ""Saying our 50th state is somehow 'foreign,' does a great disservice to the hardworking, patriotic Americans who call Hawai'i home," Akaka said. "For months, people have been asking me, 'When is Sen. Obama going to come home?' I'm so glad he found time to visit his sister and his grandmother, and for him and his family to bond and recharge in his home state. Hawai'i is a great U.S. destination; just ask the 5.5 million Americans who visited last year for business and pleasure."" ... "Akaka's press secretary, Jesse Broder Van Dyke, wants Roberts to see firsthand evidence of Hawai'i's history and its role in the country's future." ... ""I would love to take Ms. Roberts on a tour of O'ahu, with stops at the Arizona Memorial and Punchbowl, followed by a visit with Hawai'i Army National Guard soldiers training for their second deployment to the Middle East," he said. "Then I would take her to Eastside Grill to watch Team USA women's volleyball and Bryan Clay. I would introduce her to Hawai'i residents so she could witness our diversity and learn about the aloha spirit. Part of what makes America great is the unique contributions of all 50 states. Sen. Obama has every right to come home and visit his sister and grandmother."" -By Dan Nakaso -HonoluluAdvertiser.com 
 Homes
- Nevada
-  Florida
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Los
Angeles - San
Diego - San
Francisco -  California
- Florida
-  Michigan
-  Minnesota
- Illinois
-  Ohio
-  Georgia
-  New
York -Seattle
-  Washington
-  Massachusetts
- Portland
-  Oregon
-  Colorado
-  Texas
-  North
Carolina
"Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show." ... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix [Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego [California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa [Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC], down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down 9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City, New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts], down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%; Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch
John
McCain - Carl
H Lindner Jr - BobPerry
- - Money
- Politics
- Accounting
- Marketing
- 2004
Election - 2008
Election - Texas
- Ohio
- Arizona
- Illinois
- Obama
"McCain Allies Find Finance-Law Holes: Governors' Fund Recruits Big Donors; Bid to Catch Obama." ... "Allies of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain have found new loopholes in the campaign-finance law he helped write -- and they're using them to reel in huge contributions to help him compete with [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama." ... "In one method, a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain. His 2002 campaign law limits donations to presidential races to try to curtail the influence of wealth." ... "The Republican Governors Association isn't subject to those limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states." ... "Altogether, individuals can give $108,000 to federal campaigns within each two-year election cycle." ... "Donors with deep pockets also can avoid limits completely by contributing to groups called 527 organizations, after a provision in the tax code." ... "The [Republican] governors group counts a number of large corporations among its donors, including WellPoint Inc. [Incorporated] at $200,000, and Pfizer Inc. [Incorporated], Bank of America Corp. [Corporation] and Travelers Cos. [Companies] at $150,000 or more." ... "Texas developer Bob Perry, the largest financial backer of the Swift Boat group [that attacked the military service of 2004 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry], also is the largest individual donor to the governors group, at $250,000. Carl Lindner, a retired insurance executive in Ohio and another top Swift Boat financier, has contributed $100,000 to the governors' fund. The campaign-finance lawyer for the Swift Boat group in 2004 now serves the same role for the governors association." ... "In another Republican strategy, the McCain campaign itself last month began soliciting its biggest donations yet -- up to $70,100 per check." -By Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam -WSJ.com
John
McCain - Barack
Obama - Military
- Politics
- History
- Illinois
- 2008
Election
"McCain In 2003: ‘I Absolutely Don’t Believe’ Military Service Alone Qualifies Somebody For President." ... "This Sunday, on CBS’s Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer commented that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL [Democratic-Illinois]) may not have the experience to be president because he has not “ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.” After having already expressed his respect for McCain’s military record, [General] Gen. Wesley Clark responded by arguing that “getting shot down is [not] a qualification to be President.”" ... "Then, last night, on MSNBC’s Veridct with Dan Abrams, Clark again reiterated that “this is an issue about the qualifications to be President” and said, “I want to assure you I would never, never diss someone’s service.”" ... "[Watch Video of General Clark on McCain]" ... "Clark’s argument that military service is not sufficient alone to be president is an argument that has been made by McCain himself:" "- During an interview with National Journal, John McCain was asked if “military service inherently makes somebody better equipped to be commander-in-chief.” McCain said, “Absolutely not…I absolutely don’t believe that it’s necessary.” [National Journal, 2/15/2003]""In fact, in an interview on NPR on May 1, 2004, McCain noted that “some of our greatest presidents have not [had military experience]. … And all of them turned out to be fine commanders in chief.” Thus, by his own admission, McCain’s policies — not his military record — should determine if he is qualified to be president." -ThinkProgress.org
 Grover
Norquist
-  Jack
Abramoff
- John
McCain - Racial
- Politics
- History
- Military
- People
- Economic
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - Obama
"Norquist describes Obama as ‘John Kerry with a tan’." ... "Grover Norquist has quite a history of being unhinged. He’s said the Estate Tax is morally equivalent to the Nazi Holocaust; he’s called WWII veterans “anti-American,” and he’s called bipartisanship “another name for date rape.”" ... "But this clown isn’t done pushing the envelope." "Norquist dropped by The [Los Angeles] Times’ Washington bureau today and, as part of his negative critique of Obama’s liberal stances on economic issues and other matters, he termed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “John Kerry with a tan.”" ... "Since Norquist isn’t running for anything, he can get away with such remarks; we doubt McCain will be incorporating the line into his speeches anytime soon.""Greg Sargent responded, “Guess it could have been worse. He could have termed the Illinois Senator ‘John Kerry in blackface.’ Such admirable restraint on Norquist’s part!" ... "Now, the LAT’s Don Frederick noted that Norquist can “get away with such remarks,” presumably because he’s not a candidate and everyone expects lunacy from him anyway. He’ll “get away with” this, just as Norquist got away with the other instances of insane rhetoric, not to mention his role in the Abramoff scandal, which somehow seems to have been largely forgotten." ... "But I’m going to go ahead and argue that this probably should matter in the context of the presidential campaign, not just because Norquist is using offensive racial language, but also because he’s suddenly best buddies with [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain." -Steve Benen -TheCarpetbaggerReport.com
Barack
Obama - Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama Making Christian Push." ... "With the Democratic presidential nomination in his grasp, [2008 Eleciton Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama is making a full-throttle push for centrist evangelicals and Catholics." ... ""I've never seen anything quite like it before," said evangelical author Stephen Mansfield, who wrote "The Faith of George W. Bush" and has a forthcoming book about Obama." ... ""To be running against a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and to be reaching into the Christian community as wisely and knowledgeably as (Obama) is -- understanding their terms and their values -- is just remarkable."" ... "This month, the Illinois senator held a closed-door meeting in Chicago [Illinois] with almost 40 Christian leaders, including evangelical heavyweights such as the [Reverend] Rev. Franklin Graham, publishing magnate Steve Strang and megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes." ... "Obama's campaign is also launching a grass-roots effort, tentatively called Joshua Generation, with plans to hold concerts and house meetings targeted at young evangelicals and Catholics." ... "A political action committee set to launch this month, the Matthew 25 Network, plans to direct radio advertising and mailers to Christian communities while talking up Obama in the media. The group is not officially tied to the Obama campaign." ... "Obama's emphasis on faith outreach plays to his strengths, campaign observers say. The senator is at ease speaking about religion and preaches a message of forging common ground with disparate communities. " (1, 2) -By Daniel Burke -WashingtonPost 
 China
- Hackers
- US
- GOV
- Lawmakers
- Human
Rights - Politics
- Military
- Intelligence
- Investigation
-  Va
-  NJ
- Ill
"More congressional computers hacked from China." ... "More Members of Congress have had their computers infiltrated by hackers within China than initially suspected, a lawmaker has revealed." ... "[Representatives] Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia), Chris Smith (R-N.J. [Republican-New Jersey), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) admitted to having data removed from their Capitol Hill computers last week, but Wolf says there are more." ... "“I would suspect that the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence, (and) Appropriations committees would all be top targets,” Kirk said." ... "Wolf and Smith said they believe the hackers focused on them because of their continued objections to China’s human rights violations, and suspected that the hackers were looking for information on dissidents." ... "The FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] asked the lawmakers not to speak publicly, fearing that if they did, they would be unable to track the IP addresses of the hackers, Kirk said." ... "“When you’re in the middle of a criminal investigation, you try not to alert the criminal of what’s happened so you can track it down,” he said." -By Jordy Yager -TheHill.com 
 Flood
-  Iowa
- Des-Moines- Illinois
- History
- Health
"Thousands Flee Rising Waters In Iowa, Ill.: Breaking Levees Flood Des Moines [Iowa's capital], Western Ill. [Illinois]; Streets In Cedar Rapids [Iowa] May Be Underwater For Two Weeks." ... "Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes, emergency officials said Saturday." ... "The bleak news came as swollen rivers breached levees in the state capital, Des Moines, and in far western Illinois, leading to the evacuation of hundreds more homes." ... "Officials guess it will be four days before the Cedar River drops enough for workers to even begin pumping out water that has submerged at least 438 blocks, threatened the Cedar Rapids drinking water supply and forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital." ... "The Cedar River crested Friday night at nearly 32 feet, 12 feet higher than the old record set in 1929." (1, 2) -AP -CBSNews
 Tim
Russert - Barack
Obama - John
McCain -  Internet
-  EMail
-Media
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- Politics
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Security - 2008
Election
[NOTE: On the day MSNBC's Meet the Press television political journalist Tim Russert died, MSNBC published this interview with Tim Russert:] "Vigilance needed on campaign claims: Big issues, not smears, need to be the focus." ... "Msnbc: Tim, www.fightthesmears.com is a web site launched by the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama campaign to combat potentially damaging rumor about the candidate and his wife, Michelle. Is this necessary? How big of a problem is this really?" ... "Tim Russert: It’s amazing how much the Internet has changed our lives. People get emails that make accusations without foundation and they are circulated around the country within seconds and suddenly become topics of conversations around water coolers or in lunchrooms." ... "I remember being in Indianapolis [Indiana's capital] covering the Indiana primary and a man came up to me and said he wasn’t going to vote for [Illinois] Senator Obama because he was very concerned about the comments made by Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor. I said, “That’s interesting. As a reporter, I’m curious what comments particularly bothered you?” He said, “Well, I can’t think of any that come to mind, but I also read on the Internet that he’s a Muslim.” And I said, “Now wait a minute. You can’t have both. You can’t be offended by his Christian minister and then say he’s a Muslim. You’ve got to pick one.”" ... "But that just underscores what we’re dealing with in this modern era." ... "Now I’m told there’s a counter organization with a very similar name that is going to be positioned and posted to spread the rumors, so that people that go to the Internet to get clarification will go to the wrong web site and get confused." ... "It’s a virus. You have bloggers on both sides, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats all trying to utilize this vehicle without any kind of fact checking and without any kind of editorial control." ... "Msnbc: Given the way people use the Internet, do you wonder if there are going to be some things said or done during the course of this campaign that will be very unsettling?" ... "Russert: That’s what we have to be conscious of and vigilant against, particularly at the end of the campaign as things are put out there. We’ve already had a few fake videos with different words dubbed in and people say, “This must be true because I saw it on the Internet.”" ... "What we hope to do in this campaign is recognize there are big differences on big issues between John McCain and Barack Obama – the war in Iraq, Iran, Social Security, taxes. You don’t need to get into this other stuff. If it does surface, then I think the mainstream media has an obligation not to just instinctively put it out there without vetting it. Or, if it is something that is manufactured as a virus, report on that – who did it and why. But sometimes it’s very hard to trace it back to its original source." -MSNBC 
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Workers
- Retirees
- Homeowners
- Students
-  Farmers
- Families
- US_Debt
- Law
- Illinois
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"A Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans." [Full Report PDF] ... "Senator [from Illinois and 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama would permanently extend certain provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts primarily affecting taxpayers with incomes under $250,000; increase the maximum rate on capital gains and qualified dividends; and enact new and expanded targeted tax breaks for workers, retirees, homeowners, savers, students, and new farmers. Senator [from Arizona and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain proposes to extend permanently the AMT "patch" that has prevented most individuals and families with incomes below $200,000 from being affected by the tax, and in our interpretation of his proposal, Senator Obama would do the same." ... "Although both candidates have at times stressed fiscal responsibility, their specific non-health tax proposals would reduce tax revenues by $3.7 trillion (McCain) and $2.7 trillion (Obama) over the next 10 years, or approximately 10 and 7 percent of the revenues scheduled for collection under current law, respectively. Furthermore, as in the case of [Republican] President Bush's tax cuts, the true cost of McCain's policies may be masked by phase-ins and sunsets (scheduled expiration dates) that reduce the estimated revenue costs. If his policies were fully phased in and permanent, the ten-year cost would rise to $4.1 trillion, or about 11 percent of total revenues." -TaxPolicyCenter.org
Barack
Obama - John
McCain -  Hillary
Clinton - 2008
Election - North
Carolina -  Missouri
-  Montana
- Virginia
- Illinois
- Arizona
- New
York -Economy
- History
-  Gasoline
- Unemployment
"Obama Maps a Nationwide Push in G.O.P. Strongholds." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama’s general election plan calls for broadening the electoral map by challenging [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain in typically Republican states — from North Carolina to Missouri to Montana — as Mr. Obama seeks to take advantage of voter turnout operations built in nearly 50 states in the long Democratic nomination battle, aides said." ... "On Monday, Mr. Obama will travel to North Carolina — a state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 32 years — to start a two-week tour of speeches, town hall forums and other appearances intended to highlight differences with Mr. McCain on the economy. From there, he heads to Missouri, which last voted for a Democrat in 1996. His first campaign swing after securing the Democratic presidential nomination last week was to Virginia, which last voted Democratic in 1964." ... "With [New York] Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton now having formally bowed out of the race and thrown her backing to him, Mr. Obama wants to define the faltering economy as the paramount issue facing the country, a task probably made easier by ever-rising gasoline prices and the sharp rise in unemployment the government reported on Friday." (1, 2) -By Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny with contributions by Jim Rutenberg -NYTimes |
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Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama - New
York - Illinois
- 2008
Election
Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain - Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - New
York - Arizona
- Illinois
- Nevada
- California
- "Pelosi,
Reid, Dean Go Public: Democrats Need To Endorse."
... "In the absence of a concession speech from [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday
night, top figures in the Democratic Party went public, urging all uncommitted
officials to declare their presidential affiliations." ... "[Nevada Democratic
Senator and] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, [California Democratic
Representative and] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chairman Howard Dean,
and an official with the Democratic Governors Association released a public
statement on Wednesday morning requesting that the party close its ranks
and prepare for the race against [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain." ... "The move, which
had been anticipated but seemed unnecessary following [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator Barack] Obama's clinching of
the nomination on Tuesday night, is an indication that few figures beyond
Clinton's utmost loyalists are willing to stomach a prolonged vacation
period for the New York Democrat to make up her mind."
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
John
McCain - Barack
Obama - US
- Iran
- Military
- 
Technology
- Intelligence
- Politics
- Terrorism
- Iraq
- 
- Ariz
- Ill
- 2008
Election
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Military
- Terrorism
- Iran
- Palestine
- 
Israel
- 
Afghanistan
- 
Foreign
- 
South
Dakota - Illinois
- 
W.Va.
- US
- 2008
Election - "Obama
criticizes McCain, Bush on appeasement talk." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama rebuked
Republican [2008 Election Presidential] rival John McCain and [Republican]
President Bush for "dishonest, divisive" attacks in hinting that the Democratic
presidential candidate would appease terrorists, staunchly defending his
national security credentials for the general election campaign." ... ""I'm
a strong believer in civility and I'm a strong believer in a bipartisan
foreign policy, but that cause is not served with dishonest, divisive attacks
of the sort that we've seen out of George Bush and John McCain over the
last couple days, " Obama told about 2,000 voters at a town hall-style
meeting in a livestock barn [in South Dakota]." ... "Obama said McCain
had a "naive and irresponsible belief that tough talk from Washington will
somehow cause Iran to give up its nuclear program and support for terrorism.""
... ""They [Bush and McCain] aren't telling you the truth. They are trying
to fool you and scare you because they can't win a foreign policy debate
on the merits," said Obama. "But it's not going to work. Not this time,
not this year."" ... ""That's exactly the kind of appalling attack that's
divided our country and that alienates us from the world," Obama said."
... ""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," Obama said. He blamed Bush's policies for enhancing
the strength of terrorist groups such as Hamas [in Palestine] 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." ... "Other Democrats
accused McCain of hypocrisy Friday, saying the certain GOP [GOP=Grand Old
Party=Republican] presidential nominee had previously been willing to negotiate
with the militant Palestian group Hamas." ... "In Charleston, W.Va. [West
Virginia], speaking before Obama's speech, McCain told reporters: "I made
it very clear, at that time, before and after, that we will not negotiate
with terrorist organizations, that Hamas would have to abandon their terrorism,
their advocacy to the extermination of the state of Israel, and be willing
to negotiate in a way that recognizes the right of the state of Israel
and abandons their terrorist position and advocacy."" -By
Mike Glover with contributions by Glen Johnson
-AP via -SeattleTimes
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - 2008
Election - Montana
- Illinois
- US
- 
Russia
- 
Cuba
- Iran
- Military
- 
Nuclear
- History
- "Obama
Responds To McCain: "Strong" Presidents Aren't Afraid To Meet With Enemies."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama, in
Montana, responded moments ago to [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate John] McCain's ridicule
of the Illinois Senator for saying that Iran is a minuscule threat compared
to the former Soviet Union [now Russia]." ... "McCain said this revealed
Obama's "inexperience and reckless judgment." Here's the key part of Obama's
reply..."
WATCH:
"John McCain and Barack Obama Trade Blows on Foreign Policy."
Obama
- McCain
- Osama
bin Laden- US
- Iraq
- Iran
- Palestine
- Israel
- Russia
- China
- Foreign
- Military
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Politics
- History
- Illinois- 2008
Election - "Obama
Strikes Back at Bush On Diplomacy." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama
pushed back Friday against [Republican] President Bush's implicit criticism
of his approach to foreign policy, condemning his administration for not
capturing Osama bin Laden and blaming its Iraq war policy for strengthening
and emboldening Iran." ... ""If [Republicans] George Bush and John McCain
want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that
is a debate that I'm happy to have anytime, anyplace, and that is a debate
I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for,"
the Democratic front-runner said." ... "At a news conference later Friday,
Obama called it "disingenuous" to assert that he was not the clear target
of the president's comments. Obama then used the exchange to link Bush's
foreign policy record to McCain's stance toward the Middle East, and to
outline the ways his own approach to the world's most vexing problems would
differ from those of the current administration." ... "His list of grievances
included a war fought on the premise of weapons of mass destruction that
were never found, the failure to capture bin Laden and turning Iran into
the "greatest beneficiary" of the Iraq war." ... "He said McCain will "need
to answer" for a strengthened al-Qaeda leadership, Hamas's control of the
Gaza Strip [Palestine], and Iran's ability to fund Hezbollah and pose "the
greatest threat to America and Israel and the Middle East in a generation.""
... ""That's the Bush-McCain record on protecting this country," Obama
said. "Those are the failed policies that John McCain wants to double down
on."" ... "In a later appearance, Obama added that he is "puzzled" that
the concept of meeting with controversial foreign leaders is a point of
debate "when this has been the history of U.S. [United States] diplomacy
until very recently."" ... "He pointed to [Democratic] President John F.
Kennedy's meetings with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev when the United
States and Russia were on the brink of nuclear war, and to [Republican]
President Richard M. Nixon's meeting with China's Mao Zedong, "with the
knowledge that Mao had exterminated millions of people." " -By
Matthew Mosk with contributions by Perry Bacon Jr., Michael D. Shear and
Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Osama
bin Laden
- US
- Iran
- Iraq
- Palestine
- Foreign
- Military
- Terrorism
- History
- Arizona
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - "Obama
Links Bush and McCain on ‘Failed Policies’." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator
Barack Obama responded sharply on Friday to attacks on his foreign policy,
linking [Republican] President Bush and [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain as partners in “the failed policies”
of the past seven years and criticizing them for “hypocrisy, fear peddling,
fear mongering.”" ... "Confronting a major challenge to his world view,
Mr. Obama tried to turn the tables on his critics, saying they were guilty
of “bluster” and “dishonest, divisive” tactics. He cited a litany of what
he called foreign policy blunders by the Bush administration and accused
Mr. McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, of “doubling down” on them."
... "“George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for,” Mr. Obama
said at a midday forum here, listing the Iraq war, the strengthening of
Iran and groups like Hamas [in Palestine] and Hezbollah, Osama bin Laden’s
being still at large and stalled diplomacy in other parts of the Middle
East among their chief failings." ... "“If George Bush and John McCain
want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America,” Mr.
Obama said, “that is a debate I am happy to have any time, any place.”"
(1, 2)
-By Larry
Rohter with contributions by Michael Powell
-NYTimes
Obama
- McCain
- Russia
- China
- Foreign
- Military
- Politics
- History
- Health-Care
- Marketplace
- Arizona
- Illinois
- Ore- US
- 2008
Election - "Obama:
Bush, McCain Should 'Explain Why They Have a Problem With JFK'."
... "ABC News Sunlen Miller reports: [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama went one step further
today in his pushback against presumptive GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]
presidential nominee [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and
Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain and [Republican] President Bush on appeasement,
suggesting that both Republicans have a problem with presidents past who
have engaged in direct diplomacy." ... ""If George Bush and John McCain
have a problem with direct diplomacy, led by the president of the United
States, then they can explain why they have a problem with [Democratic
President] John F. Kennedy because that's what he did with [Soviet leader
Nikita] Khrushchev, or [Republican President] Ronald Reagan, 'cause that's
what he did with [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, or [Republican President]
Richard Nixon 'cause that's what they did with [Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung],"
Obama said in Roseburg, Ore. [Oregon.] "That’s exactly the kind of diplomacy
we need to keep us safe."" ... "Obama also blasted McCain's healthcare
proposals during a town-hall meeting." ... ""Essentially his plan is we’re
gonna dismantle the employer-based system and give everybody a tax break
and then see if you can fend for yourself in the marketplace," Obama told
the crowd. "He wants to give you the failed Bush health-care polices for
another four years."" -ABCNEWS.com
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - New
York
- South
Dakota - Illinois
- Nevada
- California
- US
- Israel
- Iran
- 
Syria
- Military
- Terrorism
- Politics
- History
- 2008
Election - "Bush
Assails ‘Appeasement,’ Touching Off Storm." ... "[Republican]
President Bush used a speech to the Israeli Parliament on Thursday to liken
those who would negotiate with “terrorists and radicals” to appeasers of
the Nazis — a remark widely interpreted as a rebuke to [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama, who has advocated
greater engagement with countries like Iran and Syria." ... "The comments
created an angry tussle back home, as Democrats accused Mr. Bush of breaching
protocol by playing partisan politics overseas." ... "Mr. Obama delivered
a quick and pointed response, saying in an e-mail statement to reporters
that he had no intention of dealing with terrorists and accusing Mr. Bush
of using his visit, timed for the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence,
to “launch a false political attack.”" ... "On Thursday, other Democrats
leapt to the Illinois senator’s defense. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada,
the Democratic leader, called Mr. Bush’s remarks “reckless and irresponsible.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said Mr. Bush had behaved in a manner
“beneath the dignity of the office of president.” Representative Rahm Emanuel
of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, accused Mr. Bush
of violating the unwritten rule against playing politics overseas." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York] Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential
nomination, joined him in taking issue with Mr. Bush. Weighing in from
South Dakota, Mrs. Clinton said: “President Bush’s comparison of any Democrat
to Nazi appeasers is offensive and outrageous, especially in the light
of his failures in foreign policy. This is the kind of statement that has
no place in any presidential address.”" -By Sheryl
Gay Stolberg and Jim
Rutenberg -NYTimes
WATCH
Pelosi's comment on Bush's criticism of Democrats while in Israel,
"What the President did in that regard is beneath the dignity of the office
of the President and unworthy of our representation at that observance
in Israel. And I would hope that any serious person would disassociate
themselves from the President's remarks who aspires to leadership in our
country."
John
McCain - Terrorism
- Politics
- 
Palestine
- US
- 2008
Election - Barack
Obama - Illinois
- Arizona
- "Exclusive
Video: McCain Was For Talking To Hamas Before He Was Against It...."
... "Two years ago, in an interview with James Rubin for Sky News, [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John
McCain expressed a willingness to negotiate with the terrorist group Hamas
[Palestine] -- the very group that McCain has been relentlessly_using
to smear [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama over the last several weeks." ... "Rubin has
written an op-ed
in Friday's Washington Post about his exchange with McCain, and The Huffington
Post has obtained exclusive video. Here's the key excerpt:""McCAIN:
"They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with
them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and
previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their
dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice,
so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson
is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they
want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that.""
WATCH
"McCain on Hamas in 2006: Going to Have to Deal With Them"
John
McCain - Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama - US- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- People
- Money
- Legislation
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Ariz
- Ill
- NY
- "McCain,
Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
seemed to give a thumbs down to bipartisan legislation that would greatly
expand educational benefits for members of the military returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan under the GI Bill." ... "Both [2008 Election] Democratic
presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois],
and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. [Democratic-New York], — have signed on as
co-sponsors, and the bill has gained bipartisan support from 54 senators
on Capitol Hill in addition to [Virginia Democratic Senator Jim] Webb.
A vote on the proposal is expected before the summer." ... "But the bill,
which would dramatically increase educational compensation for American
troops, has run into some unexpected resistance, both at the Pentagon and
now from McCain, who has remained silent on the issue, saying he had not
studied the bill close enough." ... "Pressure had mounted on McCain to
support the bill — a veterans group, which backs the legislation, delivered
a petition to McCain's Senate office, signed by 30,000 veterans." ... "[Matt]
Flavin joined the military out of patriotism shortly after 9/11, went to
Officer Candidate School and, over the next five years, served tours in
Bosnia, Afghanistan and with Naval special forces in Iraq." ... "While
he did not join the military specifically to get benefits from the GI Bill
and does not think most troops do, Flavin supports the legislation." ...
""We owe them something," Flavin said of his comrades. "They've given life,
limb, everything there is to give. The people who bore the most pain and
suffering are the people who could use these benefits."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Z. Byron Wolf with contributions by Bret Hovell
-ABCNEWS.com
John
Edwards - Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - North
Carolina - Illinois
- Michigan
- Clinton
- "Edwards
Endorses Obama." ... "John Edwards, the former senator
from North Carolina who bowed out of the [2008 Election] presidential race
in January, endorsed
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator
Barack Obama at a rally here tonight." ... "“The reason I am here tonight
is because the Democratic voters in America have made their choice, and
so have I,” Mr.
Edwards said. " ... [WATCH:
John Edwards: "There is one man who knows and understands that this is
the time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create
the change, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground
up. There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time to create one
America, not two, and that man is Barack Obama."]
WATCH
full video: "John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama."
Barack
Obama - Government
- Financial
- Law
- Illinois- New
York
- 2008
Election - "Obama
to Receive Endorsement Of 3 Former SEC Chairmen."
... "Three former chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission will
publicly endorse Democratic [2008 Election Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the presidency Wednesday, including
one who served under [Republican] President Bush." ... "William Donaldson,
who was SEC [Securities and Exchange Commissio] chairman for about 2½
years from early 2003, along with [Democratic President Bill] Clinton and
[Republican President Ronald] Reagan appointees Arthur Levitt and David
Ruder, will join former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker in endorsing Sen. Obama,
his campaign said. Mr. Volcker endorsed Sen. Obama in January." ... "In
a statement released by the campaign, the four men said they believed Sen.
Obama would take a "reasoned approach" to "balanced regulatory reform.""
... "The endorsements, especially that of Republican appointee Mr. Donaldson,
could give a boost to Mr. Obama in the general election this fall." ...
"Mr. Donaldson, a former Wall Street banker, also is a former head of the
New York Stock Exchange. In government, Mr. Donaldson's tenure was marked
by his push for greater regulation of hedge funds. The SEC eventually passed
a hedge-fund-regulation package, in the face of vocal critics. A federal
court later overturned the regulation." ... "In an interview Tuesday, Mr.
Donaldson said he was struck by a speech Sen. Obama gave calling for a
revamping of regulation for any business that borrows money from the government.
Sen. Obama, he said, saw the "need to take a good hard look at how things
are organized" and "just exactly what went wrong in terms of the regulatory
oversight that we have."" -By Christopher Cooper and
Kara Scannell -WSJ.com
Corporate
- 
Environmental
- Health
- Politics
- Investigation
- Manufacturing
- Water- Michigan
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- 
Wisconsin
- "U.S.
Senators Probe Departure of EPA Midwest Administrator."
... "The circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mary Gade, formerly
the U.S. [United States] EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's]
regional administrator for the Midwest, are under investigation by an environmental
committee of the U.S. Senate." ... "On May 2, the "Chicago Tribune" reported
that two top aides to Johnson demanded that Gade resign or be fired by
June 1, 2008. She has since submitted her resignation and is currently
on administrative leave." ... "According to the Tribune's story, Gade believed
her forced resignation was due to her efforts to push Dow Chemical Company
to clean up dioxin contamination in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron stemming
from its Midland, Michigan chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxin is a known
carcinogen." ... "The paper also reported that officials from Dow Chemical
had met with EPA officials in Washington in January 2008 because they were
unhappy with Gade's approach, and that Gade's handling of this issue became
the subject of criticism from her superiors in Washington." ... "On January
4, 2008, Gade terminated negotiations with Dow Chemical aimed at a settlement
to conduct a study and interim cleanup actions for dioxin contamination
along the Tittabawassee River system, the Saginaw River and the Saginaw
Bay. The negotiations under the Superfund Act began in October 2007 with
the participation of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality."
... ""I am extremely disappointed with this outcome," said Gade on January
4. "EPA approached negotiations with high hopes and realistic expectations.
Our team put in many long hours of good faith efforts that came to an unfortunate
end today. EPA is now reviewing its options for ensuring that dioxin contamination
in the river system and the Midland area can be fully addressed."" ...
"An environmental attorney, Gade was appointed regional administrator of
EPA Region 5 in October 2006 to oversee federal environmental programs
in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin."
-ENS
Mississippi
- Illinois
- 
Louisiana
- 2008
Election - "Childers
victory gives Dems a third straight takeover." ...
"Democrat Travis Childers won Tuesday’s Mississippi special election runoff
for [Mississippi Republican Senator] Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R [Republican])
former House seat, handing Democrats the biggest of their three special
election takeovers this cycle and sending a listless GOP [GOP=Grand Old
Party=Republican] further into a state of disarray." ... "Childers led
GOP candidate Greg Davis 53-47 with more than 90 percent of precincts reporting.
Turnout increased substantially over the 67,000 voters who cast ballots
in the April 22 open special election, with more than 100,000 voting in
the runoff." ... "Childers, who beat Davis 49-46 three weeks ago but came
up just shy of a race-ending majority, joins new Democratic [Illinois Representative]
Reps. Bill Foster (Ill. [Illinois]) and [Louisiana Democratic Representative]
Don Cazayoux (La. [Louisiana]) to give Democrats a trifecta of upsets in
conservative House districts over the last two months." ... "Wicker’s former
district voted 62 percent for [Republican] President Bush in 2004 and,
by that measure, is one of the most conservative seats Democrats have taken
from the GOP over the last 18 months, including the 2006 election." ...
"Davis and Childers will square off again in November [2008 Election],
as they have already been elected their parties’ general election nominees."
(1, 2)
-By Aaron Blake -TheHill.com
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Illinois
- US
- Israel
- History
- Terrorism
- Politics
- "House
Republican Leaders Twist Obama Statement on Israel."
... "In an interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama,
D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], talked a great deal about Israel. He was
rather effusive in his support for the Jewish state." ... "Apparently given
nothing of substance to criticize, House Republican leaders then took a
statement Obama made and twisted it to act as if the Democrat had insulted
the Jewish state. Which he had not." ... "After describing some of the
first times he thought about Zionism, Obama said "the idea of a secure
Jewish state is a fundamentally just idea, and a necessary idea, given
not only world history but the active existence of anti-Semitism, the potential
vulnerability that the Jewish people could still experience."" ... "He
talked about how "the idea of Israel and the reality of Israel is one that
I find important to me personally. Because it speaks to my history of being
uprooted, it speaks to the African-American story of exodus, it describes
the history of overcoming great odds and a courage and a commitment to
carving out a democracy and prosperity in the midst of hardscrabble land.""
... "He assailed Hamas as a terrorist organization and said the United
States "should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce
terrorism, and abide by previous agreements."" -By
Jake Tapper -ABCNEWS.com
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - Gas
- Politics
- 2008
Election - New
York - Illinois
- Indiana
- North
Carolina - US
- 
Guam
- "Obama
rips Clinton's gas tax plan." ... "Broadening his
attack, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator]
Sen. Barack Obama said Saturday that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton's support for a summertime
break from the federal gasoline tax symbolizes a candidacy consisting of
"phony ideas, calculated to win elections instead of actually solving problems.""
... "Locked in a Democratic presidential race for the ages, Clinton and
Obama campaigned across Indiana and North Carolina at the same time they
competed in Guam's caucuses and added to their convention delegate totals
in several states." ... "In all, four delegates were at stake in Guam half
a world away from the U.S. [United States] mainland. But given the closeness
of the race, both candidates made an effort to win."
-CNN
Ron
Paul - John
McCain - Barack
Obama - US
- Iraq
- Foreign
- Military
- Federal
- Dollars
- Law
- 
Book
- 2008
Election - Texas
- Arizona
- Illinois
- "Paul:
Not ready to endorse McCain, likes Obama's foreign policy."
... "Having a Republican win the upcoming presidential election is “secondary”
for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Texas Representative
Ron] Paul who is more interested in defending the Constitution, having
the country go in what he considers the right direction, having a sound
currency, and achieving balanced budgets. Paul parts ways with [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator John] McCain over
McCain’s support for the Iraq war, his approach to U.S. [United States]
foreign policy in the Middle East and his willingness to spend federal
dollars to support military operations in Iraq." ... "Instead, Paul favors
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator]
Sen. Barack Obama because of positions on foreign policy. “But that’s doesn’t
mean that’s an endorsement,” Paul quickly added." ... "Paul recently released
a new book titled “The Revolution: a Manifesto.” “Unfortunately, it is
revolutionary to talk about obeying the Constitution,” Paul said of the
book’s title." -CNN
Stephen
Johnson - Corporate
- Government
- Politics
- Fetal
- Human
- Health
- Science
- Environmental
- 
Safety
- Enforcement
- Emergency
- 
Wildlife
- 
Soil
- Water
- Law
- Manufacturing
- History
- Michigan
- Illinois
- "EPA's
top Midwest regulator forced out: Mary Gade, based
in Chicago [Illinois], says [Republican President] Bush administration
made her quit over Dow Chemical case." ... "The Bush administration forced
its top environmental regulator in the Midwest to quit Thursday after months
of internal bickering about dioxin contamination downstream from Dow Chemical's
world headquarters in Michigan." ... "In an interview with the [Chicago]
Tribune, Mary Gade said two top officials at the U.S. [United States] Environmental
Protection Agency headquarters in Washington stripped her of her powers
as regional administrator and told her to quit or be fired by June 1."
... "Gade said she had told the agency she would resign her position, based
in Chicago [Illinois]." ... "For the past year, Gade has been locked in
a heated dispute with Dow about long-delayed plans to clean up dioxin-saturated
soil and sediment that extends 50 miles beyond its Midland, Mich. [Michigan],
plant into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron." ... "Gade, a former corporate attorney
appointed by Bush in September 2006, invoked emergency powers last year
to force Dow to clean up four hot spots of dioxin, including the largest
amount of the cancer-causing chemical ever recorded in the United States."
... "In January, Dow urged officials at the EPA's [Environmental Protection
Agency's] headquarters to intervene after Gade broke off negotiations intended
to renew the terms for a more comprehensive cleanup. Neither side would
reveal details, citing confidentiality agreements, but Gade said Dow resisted
taking steps needed to protect human health and wildlife." ... "Though
regional EPA administrators typically have wide latitude to enforce environmental
laws, Gade drew fire from officials in Washington last month after she
sent contractors to test soil in a Saginaw [Michigan] neighborhood where
Dow had found high dioxin levels." ... "She said top lieutenants to Stephen
Johnson, the national EPA administrator, repeatedly questioned her aggressive
action against Dow, which long ago acknowledged it is responsible for the
dioxin contamination but has resisted federal and state involvement in
cleanup plans." ... "Dow dumped dioxin-contaminated waste into the waterways
for most of the last century. The chemical, which is so toxic that it is
measured in trillionths of a gram, was a manufacturing byproduct of the
Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange and other chlorinated herbicides." ...
"Company documents show Dow knew by the mid-1960s that it could make people
sick or even kill them." ... "Citing years of independent studies, the
EPA says dioxin can cause cancer, disrupt the immune system and alter fetal
development." ... ""We have a responsibility to make sure people are living
in a healthy and safe environment," Gade said. "This problem has been out
there for more than 30 years, and it's unconscionable that action hasn't
been taken."" (1, 2)
-By Michael Hawthorne
-ChicagoTribune
McCain
- Clinton
- Obama
- Transportation
- Infrastructure
- Federal
- Money
- Arizona
- New
York
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - Labor_Day
- Memorial
Day - Consumer
- 
Car
- Gas
- Politics
- "What
a gas: Candidates seem far less presidential when
they talk about 'gas tax holidays' rather than the nation's ongoing needs."
... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's idea to give Americans a summer holiday from federal
gas taxes is about as weighty as a Barbie Dream Car, yet he can't stop
driving it into the ground." ... "Neither can [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton. The
two presidential contenders can't resist the chance to pander to voters
and, as a bonus, paint [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama as an elitist. By doing so, they're
missing an opportunity to show leadership on some major long-term challenges
-- such as updating the nation's crowded roads and aging bridges." ...
"In a speech on April 15, McCain proposed that the federal government suspend
the 18.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax and the 24.4-cent-per-gallon diesel tax
between Memorial Day and Labor Day. ... "McCain's idea is problematic on
several levels. First, it would begin and end several months before the
next president takes office, so it's more of a thought balloon than a plan.
Second, the tax relief would save the typical American family only about
$40 per car, while also siphoning $10 billion from the cash-strapped federal
highway fund." ... "What's more, leading economists say the tax break would
do little to lower the prices at the pump. More likely, the slightly lower
prices would lead to higher demand, which would push the prices back up,
allowing oil companies to make more money while federal tax coffers go
hungry." ... "This is an election-year sop, not a plan for the future."
-Oregonian
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - Accounting
- Indiana
- North
Carolina - Illinois
- New
York
- Colorado
- 2008
Election - "Obama
Heads for Superdelegate Edge." ... "The 795 superdelegates,
who can vote for any nominee, fall into one of two groups -- the elected
and the unelected." ... "The elected are the party's 28 governors, 234
House members, 49 senators and assorted big-city mayors and state officeholders."
... "The nonelected superdelegates are the more than 400 national and state
party officers of the Democratic National Committee." ... "Among elected
officials, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator Barack] Sen. Obama leads in endorsements from governors and senators.
He is behind among House members by one, but both camps expect him to pull
ahead unless he does badly in next Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina
primaries. If he doesn't stumble, enough elected Democrats are expected
to back Sen. Obama after the last primaries June 3 to give him the delegate
majority needed for nomination." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and New York Senator Hillary] Sen. Clinton still leads in endorsements
from nonelected officials. Many have known her and former [Democratic]
President Clinton since the couple's White House years, or worked for them
then." ... "About 300 of the 795 superdelegates remain uncommitted; they
don't have to endorse anyone until [August] Aug. 27 at the Democrats' Denver
[Colorado] convention." -By Jackie Calmes
-WSJ.com
Tony
Zirkle - Racism
- Religion
- Indiana
- Illinois
- 
South
Carolina - 2008
Election - "House
GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Candidate Spoke At Hitler Event:
[Indiana Republican Tony Zirkle 2008 Election] Candidate For Indiana District
Defends Speech At American National Socialist Workers Party Event Celebrating
Nazi's Birthday." ... "A congressional candidate is defending his speech
to a group celebrating the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth, saying
he appeared simply because he was asked." ... "Tony Zirkle, who is seeking
the Republican nomination in northern Indiana's 2nd District, stood in
front of a painting of Hitler, next to people wearing swastika armbands
and with a swastika flag in the background for the speech to the American
National Socialist Workers Party in Chicago [Illinois] on Sunday." ...
""I'll speak before any group that invites me," Zirkle said Monday. "I've
spoken on an African-American radio station in Atlanta."" ... "He compared
his speech to other politicians appearing at Bob Jones University." ...
"[Republican] George W. Bush, then a candidate for president, was criticized
eight years ago for speaking at the South Carolina school, which teaches
students that Catholicism is a cult. Also at the time of the speech, the
school banned interracial dating, a policy that has since been dropped.
" -AP via
-CBSNews
John
McCain - Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - Working
- Women
- Families
- Poverty
- Homes
- Gasoline- 
Groceries
- Corporate
- Politics
- Arizona
- Nev
- Illinois
- New
York - New
Orleans - Louisiana
- 2008
Election - "McCain
opposes equal pay bill in Senate." ... "Republican
[2008 Election Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Sen. John McCain, campaigning
through poverty-stricken cities and towns, said Wednesday he opposes a
Senate bill that seeks equal pay for women because it would lead to more
lawsuits." ... "Senate Republicans killed the bill Wednesday night on a
56-42 vote that denied the measure the 60 votes needed to advance it to
full debate and a vote. [Nevada Democratic Representative and] Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.[Democratic-Nevada], had delayed the vote to give
McCain's Democratic rivals, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
and Senators of New York and Illinois] Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Barack Obama, time to return to Washington to support the measure, which
would make it easier for women to sue their employers for pay discrimination."
... "McCain skipped the vote to campaign in New Orleans [Louisiana]." ...
""Senator McCain has yet again fallen in line with President Bush while
middle-class families are falling by the wayside," Clinton said in a statement
following the vote. "Women are earning less, but Senator McCain is offering
more of the same."" ... "Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen
Finney said: "At a time when American families are struggling to keep their
homes and jobs while paying more for everything from gasoline to groceries,
how on Earth would anyone who thinks they can lead our country also think
it's acceptable to oppose equal pay for America's mothers, wives and daughters?""
-By Libby Quaid -AP
via -SeattlePI
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Rodham Clinton - 
Karl
Rove - Terrorism
- Politics
- Osama
bin Laden
- Television
- Ad
- Money
- History
- Pennsylvania
- Illinois
- New
York - Iran
- Israel- US
- Military
- 2008
Election - "The
Low Road to Victory." ... "The Pennsylvania campaign,
which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner,
more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean,
vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it." ... "Voters
are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it
does not work. It is past time for [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and New York] Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that
the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm
to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election." ... "If nothing
else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did
not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus
of the Democratic race. It is true that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs.
Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the
political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering
a good part of what was once a 20-point lead." ... "On the eve of this
crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to
wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television ad — torn right from
Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor,
the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with
video of Osama bin Laden. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the
kitchen,” the narrator intoned." ... "If that was supposed to bolster Mrs.
Clinton’s argument that she is the better prepared to be president in a
dangerous world, she sent the opposite message on Tuesday morning by declaring
in an interview on ABC News that if Iran attacked Israel while she were
president: “We would be able to totally obliterate them.”"
-NYTimes
Tony
Zirkle - Racist
- Indiana
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - "GOP
[GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidate defends speech at Nazi gathering."
... "Tony Zirkle, Republican candidate for [Indiana's 2008 Election] 2nd
District U.S. [United States] representative, said he is willing to talk
to any group that invites him, and that's why he addressed a weekend gathering
in Chicago [Illinois] of the American National Socialist Workers Party."
... "The occasion was a celebration of the 119th anniversary of the birth
of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler." ... "Photos an ANSWP Web site show Zirkle
at the podium in front of the larger-than-life portrait of Hitler, flanked
by an American flag on one side and a Nazi flag on the other. Swastika
banners hang on the wall, and other head-table guests are wearing swastika
arm bands." ... "The references [by Zirkle at the Nazi meeting] to prosecuting
Jewish and Zionist gangs, Zirkle said, come from his days as a deputy under
former St. Joseph County [Indiana] Prosecutor Chris Toth." ... "In an interview
in early March with the [Indiana newspaper] Kokomo Perspective, Zirkle
raised the idea of segregating different races in separate states. " -By
Nancy J. Sulok -SouthBendTribune.com
Tony
Zirkle - Racist
- Indiana
- Illinois
- US
- 
German
- Military
- History
- 2008
Election - "Worst
Campaign Idea Ever? Hoosier [Indiana Republican Tony
Zirkle, 2008 Election] congressional candidate speaks at birthday party
for Hitler, in Chicago [Illinois]." ... "U.S. [United States] Congressional
candidate Tony Zirkle is facing criticism from one of his primary opponents,
and a host of people on the Internet, for speaking at an event over the
weekend that celebrated Adolf Hitler's birthday." ... "Zirkle confirmed
to The News-Dispatch on Monday he spoke Sunday in Chicago at a meeting
of the Nationalist Socialist Workers Party, whose symbol is a swastika."
... "When asked if he was a Nazi or sympathized with Nazis or white supremacists,
Zirkle replied he didn't know enough about the group to either favor it
or oppose it." ... "The Crown Point [Indiana] Republican spoke in front
of about 56 "white activists" at an event honoring the birth of Hitler.
The German leader was responsible for the genocide of millions of Jews
and others during World War II." -By Jason Miller-TheNewsDispatch
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Politics
- Illinois
- Pennsylvania
- US
- Military
- Economy
- Global
- Planet
- "Obama
Draws Record Crowd in Philadelphia." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Barack Obama drew
what may be his biggest crowd yet here [in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]
Friday. His campaign, quoting Frank Friel, director of security at the
Independence Visitor Center, pegged the number at 35,000." ... "And Mr.
Obama took the opportunity to declare his “independence” from the politics
of the past — and from “the say-anything, do-anything politics that’s all
about how to win and not about why we should.”" ... "Here are some excerpts
from his speech, as prepared for delivery:"
John
McCain - Money
- Accounting
- Politics
-
- Arizona
- Illinois- New
York - Obama
- Clinton
- 2008
Election - "CNN
chart purporting to compare candidates' "wealth" omitted Cindy McCain,
who is reportedly worth $100 million." ... "Summary:
On [TIME WARNER/CNN TV show] The Situation Room, an on-screen chart
showed [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's income to be significantly lower than that of [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidates and Senators from Illinois
and New York] Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when combined with
the income of their spouses. However, the chart did not include any income
earned by McCain's wife, Cindy. As Dana Bash reported moments earlier of
Cindy McCain, "Some estimates actually put her worth at about $100 million.""
... "Earlier in the program, Bash compared the portion of McCain's income
that he gave to charity with the portion given by the Clintons and Obamas
-- without noting that McCain presumably benefits from his wife's wealth
and from her income from her separate property, a figure that she has not
released." -MediaMatters.org
Barack
Obama - 
Music
- 
Entertainer
- Politics
- Military
- Economic
- Racial
- Justice
- Environment
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - "Dear
Friends and Fans [Bruce Springsteen endorses Barack Obama for President]:"
... "LIke most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now
seen and heard enough to know where I stand. [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator Obama, in my view, is head
and shoulders above the rest." ... "He has the depth, the reflectiveness,
and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've
envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a
citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's
interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered
spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.""
... "At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through
the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these
matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the
context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his
excellent book, Dreams From My Father, often in order to distract us from
discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial
justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement
of our environment." ... "After the terrible damage done over the past
eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken.
I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project
and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose
and of ourselves as Americans." ... "Over here on E Street, we're proud
to support Obama for President." -By Bruce
Springsteen
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Corporate
- Network
- Sports
- Politics
- Illinois
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - "Barack
Obama is game, ESPN isn't." ... "At the last minute,
[DISNEY/ABC/ESPN] network executives killed a podcast with the senator
[of Illinois, Barack Obama, 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate,]
that was scheduled for Friday with host Bill Simmons." ... "The presidential
candidate was all ready to do it." ... ""Senator Obama would be happy to
appear on ESPN at any time," said his spokesman, Tommy Vietor." ... "It's
not the first time the sports network has canceled an appearance by the
Democratic front-runner. According to a campaign source, a television interview
set up with host Stu Scott was canceled by higher-ups as well." ... "Griped
one source, "They landed the hottest politician in 50 years, and they couldn't
even see the interview through? This is insanity."" ... "It's of interest
that ESPN president George Bodenheimer has supported Republican [2008 Election
Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential
bid with a donation of $1,000." -NYDailyNews.com
Corporate
- Politics
- Illinois
- Los
Angeles - California
- US
- Global
- "Murdoch,
Zell Appointed to AP Board." ... "Rupert Murdoch
[owner of News Corporation/Fox] and Sam Zell, two media figures who led
major newspaper acquisitions in recent months, are among four new members
joining the board of directors of The Associated Press, it was announced
Monday at the news cooperative's annual meeting." ... "Murdoch completed
his acquisition of Dow Jones & Co. last December, adding The Wall Street
Journal to his global media conglomerate." ... "The same month, Zell took
control of Tribune Co. after leading a buyout that resulted in the publicly
traded company becoming private. The company owns the Chicago Tribune [Chicago,
Illinois], the Los Angeles [Los Angeles, California] Times, nine other
daily newspapers and 23 television stations."
-AP via -HuffingtonPost.com
John
McCain - Corporate
- Politics
- Barack
Obama - Labor
- Justice
- Churches
- Illinois
- Pennsylvania
- 2008
Election - "It
Takes Real Chutzpah for a Guy Who Owns Eight Houses (McCain) to Call Barack
Obama an "Elitist"." ... "[2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate John] McCain doesn't lack "chutzpah." Yesterday
his campaign actually accused [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Barack Obama of being an "elitist" for saying that it's not surprising
that people in small Midwestern towns are bitter after seeing their standard
of living systematically destroyed over the last three decades." ... "Damn
right they're bitter; they have good reasons to be. And most of those reasons
are the economic and trade policies that have - and continue to be - championed
by [Republicans] George Bush and John McCain." ... "The McCain campaign
is managed by a cadre of Washington-insider special interest lobbyists.
He and his current wife are estimated to be worth about $100 million. He
reportedly owns eight houses. His let-them-eat-cake economic policies are
based on George Bush's failed radical conservative "you're on your own
buddy" philosophy. One after another he supported trade agreements that
protect the rights of corporations, but ignore the rights of labor, and
have devastated one Pennsylvania community after another. He gets most
of his campaign cash from the wealthiest corporate interests around. And
he has the gall to call Barack Obama an "elitist"?" ... "This is the same
Barack Obama who spent years of his life organizing out-of-work steelworkers
on the south side of Chicago [Illinois] - people just like those who live
in Allentown [Pennsylvania] or Erie [Pennsylvania] or Pittsburgh [Pennsylvania]
or the Monongehela Valley in western Pennsylvania. He stood shoulder to
shoulder with them, sat at their kitchen tables, spent hours in their church
basements." ... "He didn't do those things as a famous candidate, but as
a community organizer being paid $8,000 a year by a coalition of churches.
You don't build a resume or a client list organizing unemployed steel workers.
You do it because you respect the people and you care about justice." ...
"In fact, the trademark of Barack Obama's campaign for president is the
honest, respectful way he talks to everyone -- and stands up for everyday
Americans." ... "If you want to talk about patronizing, or "elitism", you
need look no farther than the way [Republicans] Bush and McCain attempt
to use fear and division to divert the attention of middle class people
from the economic policies that pick their pockets, lower their wages,
destroy their unions, and outsource their jobs. And all the while they
use our money to bail out Wall Street, and give giant tax breaks to the
real "elitists" -- the economic elite." -By Robert
Creamer -HuffingtonPost.com
Safety
- Enforcement
- Corporate
- Politics
- Federal
- 
Aviation
- Lawmakers
- Ill
- Texas
- "Lawmakers
blame FAA for mass flight cancellations." ... "Outrage
over mass cancellations of American Airlines flights spilled into Congress
on Thursday as lawmakers blamed regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration
for indirectly contributing to the hardships shouldered by thousands of
stranded travelers." ... "Nicholas Sabatini, the FAA's associate administrator
for safety, endured relentless questions by members of a Senate subcommittee
on aviation, who took turns denouncing "systematic" regulatory failures
by the FAA. Several suggested that the cancellations may not have been
necessary if the agency had been tougher in the past." ... "In the past
three days, American Airlines has grounded nearly 2,500 flights to repair
wiring bundles in the wheel wells of its MD-80 fleet. The repairs were
ordered after the FAA toughened its oversight of commercial airlines following
allegations that FAA officials in Texas allowed Dallas-based Southwest
Airlines to fly potentially unsafe airplanes that were overdue for inspections."
... ""I don't think there is any question that the FAA has been lax in
enforcing safety regulations," [Illinois Democratic Representative] Rep.
Jerry Costello, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], chairman of the House aviation
subcommittee, said in a telephone interview." -By
Dave
Montgomery -McClatchyDC.com
Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama - John
Edwards - John
McCain - Health
- 2008
Election - New
York
- Illinois
- Ariz
- "Elizabeth
Edwards Backs Clinton Health Care Plan: Edwards Declines
to Endorse Either Democrat, but Likes Idea of 'Dream Ticket'." ... "Elizabeth
Edwards, wife of former [2008 Election] presidential candidate John Edwards,
remains unwilling to endorse either of the two remaining Democratic contenders,
but the health care advocate told ABC News she preferred [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator Hillary] Sen. Clinton's
health plan to [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator Barack] Sen. Obama's." ... "In an interview with "Good Morning
America's" Robin Roberts, airing Wednesday, Edwards — who recently began
work as a senior fellow at the liberal think tank, the Center for American
Progress — said she believed Clinton's health care plan was more inclusive
than that of the Illinois senator." ... ""You need that universality in
order to get the cost savings ... I just have more confidence in Sen. Clinton's
policy than Sen. Obama's on this particular issue," she said." ... "She
[Elizabeth Edwards] argued that neither she, who has breast cancer, nor
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator John]
McCain, R-Ariz., who had skin cancer in the past, could obtain health insurance
under his health care proposal." ... "Edwards said she liked the idea of
Clinton and Obama running together on a so-called dream ticket, and discounted
the idea of her husband, John, accepting a place as either candidate's
running mate." ... ""[Clinton and Obama] are the two strongest Democrats
running. It's hard not to believe that together they are stronger than
they would be apart."" (1, 2)
-By
Russell Goldman -ABCNEWS.com
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - American
- Soldiers
- Opinion
- 2008
Election - Iraq
- Ill
- "Surprising
Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops: American Soldiers
Speak Out About Their Presidential Endorsements." ... "ABC's Martha Raddatz
asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them
when looking at the presidential candidates." ... "Though the military
is not supposed to engage in partisan political activity, these soldiers
spoke out about their personal endorsements, and their opinions are likely
to matter. In 2004, 73 percent of the U.S. [United States] military voted
for a presidential candidate, and officials believe it may be even higher
this time around." ... "[Private First Class] PFC Jeremy Slate said he
supported [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], because of his
stated intention to pull out of Iraq right away." ... "[Sergeant First
Class] SFC Patricia Keller also expressed support for Obama, citing his
representation for change." ... "[Specialist] Spc. Imus Loto said he supported
Obama. "It will be something different. But he's out there and he'll probably
support us a lot more."" ... "[Sergeant] 1st Sgt. David Logan said, "I
am leaning toward Hillary. I think that we should have a gradual drawdown.""
(1, 2) -By
Martha Raddatz with contributions by Jung Hwa Song
-ABCNEWS.com
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Race
- Politics
- Illinois
- "Poll:
76 percent say U.S. ready for black president." ...
"The number of Americans who believe that the country is ready for a black
president is rising, a poll released Thursday suggested." ... "More than
three quarters, 76 percent, of respondents in a CNN/Essence Magazine/Opinion
Research Corp. poll said the country is ready to be led by an African-American,
up 14 percentage points since December 2006." ... "Some of the rise can
be attributed to the success of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential
primaries, said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director." ... ""We're not
asking this question in a vacuum. In many cases, respondents must have
had Obama in mind when giving their answer, even though he is not mentioned
anywhere in the questionnaire," Holland said. " -By
Paul Steinhauser -CNN
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Iraq
- Military
- US
- Economy
- Illinois
- "Obama
casts race between him, McCain." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama argued that [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain would merely be another
four years of [Republican] President Bush on economic and military policies.
McCain has criticized Obama as being inexperienced on national security,
and the Illinois senator answered back." ... ""Meanwhile Senator McCain
has been saying I don't understand national security, but he's the one
who wants to keep tens of thousands of United States troops in Iraq for
as long as 100 years," Obama said." ... ""One hundred years in a country
that had nothing to do with 9/11 may make sense to George Bush and John
McCain but it is the wrong thing to do. It is not right for our national
security. It is not right for our economy," Obama said to applause at a
town hall." -By Devlin Barrett
-AP via -SeattleTimes
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Hillary
Clinton - Iraq
- US
- Military
- Arizona
- Illinois
- Pennsylvania
- New
York
- Housing
- Economy
- 2008
Election - "Obama
takes aim at McCain on Iraq." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat Barack Obama took aim on Monday
at potential White House opponent [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain on Iraq, saying the Republican senator could not
offer a clear definition of success in the conflict and could leave U.S.
[United States] combat troops there for decades." ... "Obama said the Arizona
senator shared a vision of Iraq with [Republican] President George W. Bush
and had not spelled out how the United States would be able to end its
military involvement there." ... ""The problem that we've had, both with
John McCain and George Bush, is there's no clear definition of success.
There never was. And that's why this has been such a profound strategic
error," Obama, an Illinois senator, told reporters while campaigning in
Pennsylvania." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary]
Clinton criticized McCain's recent speech on the economy for failing to
lay out a clear plan to end turmoil in U.S. housing markets." ... ""Senator
McCain recently gave a speech on the economy, and best I could determine
his plan was not to have a plan," Clinton, a New York senator, said during
an economic round-table in Harrisburg [Pennsylvania]." (1, 2,
3)
-By Caren Bohan with contributions by Ellen Wulfhorst,
Steve Holland, John Whitesides and Mohammad Zargham
-Reuters
Barack
Obama - Professor
- Law
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - "University
of Chicago: Obama was a 'professor'." ... "The University
of Chicago [Chicago, Illinois] said Friday [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate] Barack Obama accurately described himself as a onetime law professor
at the school, despite the fact his formal title was "Senior Lecturer.""
... ""From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama
served as a professor in the Law School," the statement said." ... ""He
was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to
2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers
are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded
as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track," it also said."
-By Alexander Mooney and Peter Hamby
-CNN
Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain - Homeowners
- Financial
- Law
- Government
- Energy
- 
Telecommunications
- Illinois
- North
Carolina - 2008
Election - "Obama
Casts Wide Blame for Financial Crisis and Proposes Homeowner Aid."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator
Barack Obama called Thursday for tighter regulation of mortgage lenders,
banks and financial houses, even as he spoke of pumping $30 billion into
the economy to shield homeowners and local governments from the worst effects
of the collapse of the housing bubble." ... "Mr. Obama laid much of the
blame for the crisis on lobbyists and politicians who dismantled the regulatory
framework governing the energy, telecommunications and financial services
sectors." ... "“Under Republican and Democratic administrations, we failed
to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation
instead of productivity and sound business practices,” Mr. Obama said.
“The result has been a distorted market that creates bubbles instead of
steady sustainable growth, a market that favors Wall Street over Main Street
but ends up hurting both.”" ... "“Instead of establishing a 21st-century
regulatory framework, we simply dismantled the old one,” he said, “aided
by a legal but corrupt bargain in which campaign money all too often shaped
policy and watered down oversight.”" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Hillary Clinton:] “We’ve had enough of a president who didn’t
know enough about economics and didn’t do enough for the American middle
class,” Mrs. Clinton said in Raleigh [North Carolina's capital]. Referring
to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] Mr. McCain, she
added, “I don’t think we can afford four more years of that kind of inaction.”"
... "Mr. McCain “recently admitted, ‘The issue of economics is not something
I’ve understood as well as I should,’ ” Mrs. Clinton said. “And it turns
out he’d rather ignore the credit crisis and mortgage crisis — or blame
middle-class families instead of offering solutions on their behalf.”"
-By Michael
Powell and Jeff
Zeleny -NYTimes
Barack
Obama - Illinois
- Police
- Videotape
- Death
Penalty - Law
- 2008
Election - "Police
interrogation law showed Obama's skill in Illinois senate."
... "Facing the challenge of overhauling the death-penalty law in a state
rocked by revelations of botched prosecutions, Illinois state [Senator]
Sen. John Cullerton made a tactical decision." ... "The chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee decided to separate one controversial proposal
from the broader package, one that would require videotaping interrogations
in murder cases. Police and prosecutors opposed it so much that keeping
it in the broader package threatened to sink the whole effort." ... "The
state senator who later took on the task of pushing the proposal to videotape
interrogations was [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack
Obama." ... "Obama worked with Democrats, Republicans and especially with
police and prosecutors to fashion a bill that all of them could support.
By the time it reached the Senate floor, everyone was on board. It passed
in a unanimous vote, and is now Illinois law." ... "How Obama did it reveals
a lot about his political style, which is at the core of his appeal. It
defines an approach to political problem solving that he vows can change
how Washington does business." -By Steven
Thomma -McClatchyDC.com
Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton - John
McCain
- Debt
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- Illinois
- West
Virginia - Indiana
- Car
- Oil
- Household
- 2008
Election - "Obama
Links Effects of War Costs to Fragility in the Economy."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator
Barack Obama on Thursday blamed the fragile economy on “careless and incompetent
execution” of the Iraq war, imploring voters in this swing state [of West
Virginia] to consider the trickle-down economic consequences of the war
as they choose a successor to [Republican] President Bush." ... "“When
you’re spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is
four times what it was before Iraq, you’re paying a price for this war,”
Mr. Obama said to an audience at the University of Charleston [in West
Virginia]. “When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, you’re
paying a price for this war.”" ... "“No matter what the costs, no matter
what the consequences, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
John McCain seems determined to carry out a third Bush term,” Mr. Obama
said. “That’s an outcome America can’t afford. Because of the Bush-McCain
policies, our debt has ballooned.”" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Hillary Clinton in Indiana:] “We spend $12 billion a month in
Iraq, and that does affect the economy,” Mrs. Clinton said. “That’s one
of the reasons we’ve gone into more and more debt. We’ve got to begin not
only to withdraw our troops, but bring that money back home. We need to
put that money to work here in Indiana.”" -By Jeff
Zeleny and Michael
Cooper with contributions by Patrick Healy
-NYTimes
Barack
Obama
- Religion
- Poll
- Illinois
- 2008
Election - "CBS
Poll: Good Reviews For Obama Speech." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack
Obama's speech on race this week, in which he discussed his relationship
with [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his controversial longtime minister,
has received largely positive reviews, according to a new CBS News
poll." ... "But the percentage of voters who think Obama would unite the
country as president has dropped since late February." ... "Sixty-nine
percent of voters who have heard or read about Obama’s speech say he did
a good job addressing the issue of race relations, and 63 percent of voters
following the events say they agree with Obama's views on race relations.
Seventy-one percent say he did a good job explaining his relationship with
Wright." ... "[PDF]
Read The Complete Poll Results" ... "When registered voters were
asked if Obama would unite the country, however, 52 percent said yes -
down from 67 percent last month." -CBSNews
Barack
Obama
- 
Bill
Richardson
- 
New
Mexico - Illinois
- Portland
- Ore
- US
- International
- 2008
Election - "Obama
wins Bill Richardson's endorsement." ... "New Mexico
[Governor] Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's only Latino governor, is
endorsing [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama for president, calling him a "once-in-a-lifetime
leader" who can unite the nation and restore America's international leadership."
... "Richardson, who dropped out of the Democratic race in January, is
to appear with Obama today at a campaign event in Portland, Ore. [Oregon],
the Associated Press has learned." -By Jim Cole
-AP via -LAtimes
Barack
Obama
- John
McCain
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- 
Pakistan
- Military
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Osama
bin Laden
- North
Carolina - Illinois
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - "Obama
says Iraq war has hurt U.S. security." ... "[2008
Election Democratic] Presidential hopeful Barack Obama traveled Wednesday
to a community college near Ft. Bragg [North Carolina], home of the 82nd
Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, to argue that
the Iraq war had opened a "security gap" for the United States." ... "Speaking
on the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, the Illinois senator
said it had emboldened enemies such as Iran and Al Qaeda while weakening
U.S. support in the Middle East." ... "And Obama teased [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, a supporter of the war
and the presumptive Republican nominee for president, for a mix-up Tuesday
during a visit to the Middle East." ... ""Just yesterday, we heard [Arizona
Senator] Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shia, Iran and Al Qaeda," Obama
said. "Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had
no Al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that
the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic
choice that we have made in decades."" ... "Likewise, Obama targeted McCain's
frequent vow that as president he would pursue Osama bin Laden "to the
gates of hell." Obama argued that the promise was meaningless given McCain's
focus on the conflict in Iraq rather than devoting greater military resources
to Afghanistan and the Pakistani border regions, where Bin Laden is believed
to be hiding." ... ""We have a security gap when candidates say they will
follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell but refuse to follow him where
he actually goes," Obama said." -By Mike Dorning
-ChicagoTribune via
-LAtimes
Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton
- John
McCain
- Financial
- History
- American
- Working
- Folks
- Homes
- Overseas
- Ariz
- Pennsylvania
- Ill
- 2008
Election - "Presidential
Candidates Address Economic Woes: [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidates and Senators] Sens. [Barack] Obama,
[Hillary] Clinton Blast [Republican President] Bush for Not Doing Enough
to Avert Economic Meltdown." ... "Both Democratic candidates veered off
their scheduled speeches Monday to address the jittery U.S. economy and
slammed [Republican] President Bush for not doing enough to stop the [home]
mortgage lending crisis from spilling over into the wider economy." ...
"Clinton's communications director contrasted her economic platform with
that of presumed Republican candidate [Arizona Republican Senator] Sen.
John McCain', R-Ariz [Republican-Arizona]." ... ""In the fall there will
be a major debate over what we do to get this economy back on track, and
John McCain is welcome to defend seven years of the Bush economic policies,
but we believe that we need to go in a different direction and will do
so," Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said Monday, referring
to McCain's support of making Bush's tax cuts permanent." ... "Campaigning
in Pennsylvania Monday ahead of the April 22 primary, [Illinois Democratic
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], said that the
economy wasn't working for average Americans, even before the recent crisis
in the financial industry." ... ""Wages, incomes, they haven't gone up
over the last seven years. Corporate profits were great, Wall Street was
doing fine, but ordinary folks were struggling. And so if you're really
ready for change, we can't just tinker around the edges. We've got to bring
around a fundamental change to our economy," Obama said." ... ""We are
going to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and
start giving tax breaks to companies that invest right here in Pennsylvania
and all across America. We're gonna roll back tax cuts to the wealthiest
Americans who don't need 'em, and we're [weren't] even asking for them,
and give those tax breaks to hardworking ordinary Americans who deserve
them right now," Obama said." (1,
2,
3)
-By Jennifer Parker with contributions by Kate Snow,
Peyton Craighill, Sunlen Miller, Eloise Harper, Bret Hovell and David Chalian
-ABCNEWS.com
Dennis
Hastert - Money
- Accounting
- Oil
- Iraq
- Military
- US- Ill
- 
Ark
- Va
- "Republicans
See Storm Clouds Gathering: Week of Bad News Highlights
Difficult Challenges for GOP in Fall Elections." ... "It started with the
loss last weekend of the seat held for two decades by [Illinois Republican
Representative and] former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]).
It got worse when Republicans lost potentially strong challengers to Democratic
senators in South Dakota and New Jersey, and failed to field anyone to
oppose the reelection bid of [Arkansas Democratic Senator] Sen. Mark Pryor
(D-Ark. [Democratic-Arkansas])." ... "The latest blow came with the revelation
that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee
(NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly
as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his
own bank accounts." ... ""It's no mystery," said [Virginia Republican Representative]
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia]). "You have a very
unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks
down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president
who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand.""
(1, 2)
-By Jonathan Weisman with contributions by Paul Kane
-WashingtonPost
Barack
Obama
- Religious
- Justice
- Homeless
- Poor
- Health
- Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "On
My Faith and My Church." [By Barack Obama, 2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate:] ... "The pastor of my
church, [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last
sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over
the last few days. He's drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory
and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political
opponents." ... "Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and
strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy.
I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country
or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that
degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's
on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements
by Rev. Wright that are at issue." ... "Because these particular statements
by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of
people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship
with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide
some context." ... "As I have written about in my books, I first joined
Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright
as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine,
as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured
at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the
University of Chicago [Chicago, Illinois]. He also led a diverse congregation
that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of
Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice
but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless
to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS." ... "Most importantly, Rev. Wright
preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other
words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And
the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love
God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice
at every turn." ... "The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the
cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach
while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation.
When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning
of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly
condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement,
and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I
married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it
appropriate to leave the church." ... "Let me repeat what I've said earlier.
All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones
that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly
contradict my profound love for this country." -By
Barack Obama -HuffingtonPost.com
Hillary
Clinton
- Barack
Obama
- Race
- 2008
Election - New
York
- Illinois
- South
Carolina - "Clinton
apologizes to black voters." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton
apologized to a gathering of black newspaper publishers Wednesday for a
top fundraiser's controversial comments that [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's race has
helped his candidacy." ... "The New York senator found herself in the hot
seat after the remarks by Geraldine Ferraro -- a former New York congresswoman,
Democratic vice presidential candidate and Clinton supporter." ... ""I
rejected what she said and I certainly do repudiate it," Clinton said at
the National Newspaper Publishers Association meeting in Washington." ...
"Clinton was asked about remarks her husband, former [Democratic] President
Bill Clinton, made while on the trail for his wife in South Carolina last
month in which he seemed to imply that Obama's success in South Carolina
would largely be based on his race." ... ""I'm sorry if anyone was offended.
It certainly was not meant in anyway to be offensive," she said."
-CNN
Barack
Obama
- John
McCain
- Politics
- Illinois
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - "Obama:
McCain changed views on tax cuts." ... "Democratic
[2008 Election Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Sen. Barack Obama said
Thursday that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona
Senator] Sen. John McCain reversed his position on [Republican] President
Bush's deep tax cuts in order to win the Republican presidential nomination,
one of his sharpest criticisms yet of the Arizona senator he hopes to face
this fall." ... "Criticizing GOP efforts to extend major tax cuts from
Bush's first term and to eliminate the estate tax, Obama said: "These are
all steps that John McCain rightly said were irresponsible when they first
came up."" ... ""He made a decision to reverse himself on that," Obama
told reporters as he flew from Chicago [Illinois] to Washington for a series
of Senate votes on budget issues." ... ""That was how, I guess, you got
your ticket punched to be the Republican nominee," he said of McCain. "But
he was right then, and he's wrong now."" -By Charles
Babington -AP
via -Yahoo
Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton - 2008
Election - Lawmakers
- Illinois
- New
York
- South
Carolina - Mississippi
- Georgia
- Virginia
- North
Carolina - 
Tennessee
- 
Alabama
- 
North
Dakota - South
Dakota - 
Kentucky
- West
Virginia - "Eyeing
Obama coattails." ... "Democratic lawmakers are becoming
persuaded that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois
Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois]) would have a more
positive impact on other Democrats on the November ballot than [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.[Democratic-New York])." ... "Obama’s advantage over Clinton
would be most pronounced in the Southern and Western states President Bush
carried in 2000 and 2004, say lawmakers interviewed by The Hill. In total,
32 members of Congress from these “red states” have endorsed Obama. Twenty-two
lawmakers from those states have backed Clinton." ... "Obama will “bring
new people into the process in Southern states, there’s no question about
it,” said Rep. James Clyburn, the House Democratic whip from South Carolina.
“In these Southern states he’s bringing out more people, young people,
African-Americans. They’re being energized by him.”" ... "Clyburn, who
has stayed neutral in the primary, said Obama at the top of the ticket
would “certainly” do more to help other Democratic candidates, citing South
Carolina and Mississippi specifically." ... "Obama has picked up congressional
endorsements from Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama,
North and South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Clinton
has not collected congressional endorsements from any of these states,
according to a tally kept by The Hill." -By Alexander
Bolton with contributions by Sam Youngman -TheHill.com
Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama
- Nevada
- New
York
- Illinois
- 
Wyoming
- 2008
Election - "Reid
defends Nevada caucus." ... "[Nevada Democratic Senator]
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday defended his state’s
January caucus, saying it created a “tremendous sea change on how politics
are looked at in Nevada.”" ... "His comments came as the campaign for [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.[Democratic-New York]) has increasingly criticized
the caucus system, which has favored [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois])
in the two senators’ quest for their party’s presidential nomination. Clinton
won the popular vote in the Nevada caucus, but she has fallen short on
a number of other caucuses, including Saturday’s in Wyoming." ... "“In
a period of an hour, we had 30,000 new Democrats in Nevada,” Reid said
in defending the Nevada caucus on Wednesday. “We had tremendous new participation
we’ve never had before.”" -By Manu Raju
-TheHill.com
Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton
- Racist
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Illinois
- New
York
- "Ferraro defends
controversial comments on Barack Obama." ... "Former
[Democratic] vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro today defended
a remark she made to the Daily Breeze last week, in which she suggested
that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator]
Sen. Barack Obama would not be where he is if he were white." ... "In an
interview with the Breeze, Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man, he
would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he
would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he
is. And the country is caught up in the concept."" ... "The comment was
picked up by political blogs and cable news shows across the country. The
Obama campaign held a conference call today to denounce the remark, and
Obama surrogates urged [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton to repudiate it." ... "In a
follow-up interview today, Ferraro said her company had been deluged with
vicious e-mail messages accusing her of racism." ... "But far from backing
off from her initial remark, Ferraro defended it and elaborated on it."
... ""Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign
down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this
world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro
said. "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're
attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"" ... "Obama campaign manager
David Axelrod called Ferraro's comments part of an "insidious pattern"
of remarks from Clinton supporters that have drawn attention to Obama's
race." ... ""When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really
sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes," Axelrod said,
according to ABC News." -By Gene Maddaus with contributions
by Jim Farber -DailyBreeze.com
John
McCain
- US
- 
European
- Military
- Plane
- Manufacturing
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Arizona
- Texas
- Illinois
- "McCain
Advisers Lobbied for Airbus." ... "Top current advisers
to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign last year lobbied for a European
plane maker that beat Boeing to a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract,
taking sides in a bidding fight that McCain has tried to referee for more
than five years." ... "Two of the advisers gave up their lobbying work
when they joined McCain's campaign. A third, former Texas [Republican Representative]
Rep. Tom Loeffler, lobbied for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space
Co. while serving as McCain's national finance chairman." ... "EADS is
the parent company of Airbus, which teamed up with U.S.-based Northrop
Grumman Corp. to win the lucrative aerial refueling contract on Feb. 29.
Boeing Co. Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement Monday that
the Chicago[Illinois]-based aerospace company "found serious flaws in the
process that we believe warrant appeal."" ... "EADS retained Ogilvy Government
Relations and The Loeffler Group to lobby for the tanker deal last year,
months after McCain sent two letters urging the Defense Department to make
sure the bidding proposals guaranteed competition." ... "According to lobbying
records filed with the Senate, Loeffler Group lobbyists on the project
included Loeffler; Susan Nelson, who left the firm and is now the campaign's
finance director and former Secretary of the Navy William Ball III, who
has campaigned for McCain. Ogilvy lobbyist John Green, who was assigned
the EADS work, recently took a leave of absence to volunteer for McCain
as the campaign's congressional liaison." ... "So far this election cycle,
[EADS] company employees have donated $120,350 [in political contributions].
Of that, McCain's presidential campaign has received $14,000, the most
of any other member of Congress this election cycle." -By
Jim Kuhnhenn and Matthew Daly with contributions by Glen Johnson and Libby
Quaid -AP
via -SeattleTimes
John
McCain
- 
France
- European
Union - US
- Military
- Aircraft
- Manufacturers
- Money- Jobs
- 2008
Election - Arizona
- Los
Angeles - California
- Seattle
- Washington
- Illinois
- "Boeing
backers blame McCain for losing deal." ... "Supporters
of The Boeing Co. blame [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee, for the company's failure to win the lucrative $35 billion contract
to build new Air Force aerial refueling tankers." ... "The Air Force last
week awarded the contract to a team of Airbus parent EADS and Northrop
Grumman Corp., triggering a firestorm from Boeing advocates who said the
victory by the European-led consortium ignored American national security
interests and would cost U.S. jobs." ... "Boeing advocates say McCain was
a major force behind the Air Force decision to ignore the issue of government
subsidies to Airbus when the tanker contract was put up for competitive
bidding last year." ... "The issue of European government subsidies for
Airbus has been raised for years by Boeing supporters who claim that those
financial breaks have allowed the Toulouse, France-based company to undercut
Boeing's prices and thus gain market share in the global competition between
the two aircraft manufacturers. (Both the U.S. and the European Union,
which claims Boeing also receives subsidies, have filed cases with the
World Trade Organization.)" ... "Boeing advocates assert that those same
subsidies helped European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. and Los-Angeles[California]-based
Northrop Grumman win the Air Force tanker project, with a value that could
eventually top $100 billion." ... ""The only reason that (Airbus) could
even bid a low price is because they receive a subsidy," said [Washington
Democratic Representative] Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., whose Seattle-area
district includes thousands of Boeing workers. "Senator McCain jumped into
this and said that they (the Air Force) could not look at the subsidy issue,
which I think is a big mistake," he told PBS." ... "McCain himself has
received support from the EADS North America executive suite. He has received
more than $12,000 in campaign donations from some of the company's top
U.S. officials, support that continued even as his presidential campaign
was foundering in mid- to late 2007." ... "McCain's donors include EADS
North America Chief Executive Officer Ralph Crosby and Senior Vice President
of Government Relations Samuel Adcock." ... ""The person that stopped (the
tanker) from going to a U.S. company was Senator McCain," said [Illinois
Democratic Represenative Rahm] Emanuel, "and now we are going to send major
high-paying jobs overseas."" -By Eric Rosenberg with
contributions by Daniel Lathrop -SeattlePI
Barack
Obama
- Tim
Russert
- John
McCain
- 
John
Hagee - Religious
- Homosexual
- Woman
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Arizona
- Illinois
- Texas
- "After
repeatedly asking Obama about Farrakhan during debate, Russert ignored
guest's reference to Hagee's endorsement of McCain on Meet the Press."
... "Summary: On Meet the Press, host Tim Russert ignored Republican
strategist Mike Murphy's reference to [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's acceptance of an endorsement
by evangelist John Hagee. Russert did not identify Hagee by name or mention
Hagee's statements denouncing or disparaging homosexuality, Islam, Catholics,
and women. By contrast, during the last Democratic debate, Russert persisted
with questions to [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and
Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama about Louis Farrakhan's support of
Obama, despite Obama's repeated denunciations of Farrakhan's statements."
... "During the March 2 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert
ignored a reference by guest commentator and Republican strategist Mike
Murphy to Sen. John McCain's acceptance of an endorsement by evangelist
John Hagee, founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio,
Texas." ... "Nor did he [Tim Russert] mention Hagee's endorsement of McCain,
the Catholic League's Bill Donohue's criticism of McCain over the endorsement,
or Hagee's controversial
statements about, among other topics, homosexuality, Islam, Catholicism,
and women. Rather, Russert moved on to a different subject after Murphy
finished speaking. By contrast, during the February 26 Democratic primary
debate
in which he was a moderator, Russert repeatedly
asked Sen. Barack Obama about comments made by Nation of Islam minister
Louis Farrakhan despite Obama's saying in answer to Russert's first question
on the topic: "I have been very clear in my denunciation of Minister Farrakhan's
anti-Semitic comments. I think that they are unacceptable and reprehensible"
and despite repeating his "denunciation" in response to follow-up questions.
Obama had also previously_denounced
Farrakhan's statements." ... "On February 27, Hagee endorsed
McCain at a press conference in which the two appeared together. Following
Hagee's endorsement, McCain said,
"All I can tell you is I'm very proud to have pastor Hagee's support."
Subsequently, Donohue_criticized
McCain for his failure to repudiate Hagee's support, issuing a statement
in which he called Hagee "anti-Catholic" and a "bigot" and stated: "Senator
Obama has repudiated the endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, another bigot.
McCain should follow suit and retract his embrace of Hagee."" -MediaMatters.org
Rockford - RegisterStar - "Register Star" - RockfordRegisterStar - "Web site of the Rock River Valley - Rockford, Ill." - http://www.RRStar.com - Gannett Co. Inc. Publication http://www.usatoday.com/news/states/ilmain.htm
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