October 12, 2008
Campaign 2008: Mike Huckabee in the news
Obama, McCain campaign volunteers on Long Island
Behind a Uniondale accounting office, eight kids leaned over broad white poster boards, and with bright markers spelled out O-B-A-M-A on signs destined for store windows.
Les Payne: A pitiful showing at McCain/Palin GOP convention
Upstaging the GOP presidential candidate who can't read a speech, the exuberant Gov. Sarah Palin exposed the nominee as a listless, 72-year-old senior citizen taking a tricky handoff from the nation's most unpopular commander-in-chief and likely its most incompetent.
RNC NOTES
Vanquished Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney got an enthusiastic greeting when he appeared to speak last night to delegates at the Republican National Convention. Romney said Washington is dominated by liberal politics and asserted that people are tired of it. He said the country needs change "from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington." Romney unsuccessfully challenged McCain for his party's presidential nod. The former Massachusetts governor said the prescription for people wanting change is to "throw out the liberal government in Washington and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."
RNC delegates rally behind McCain, Palin; target Obama
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Republicans assailed Barack Obama as the most liberal, least experienced White House nominee in history last night as President George W. Bush led a convention chorus of praise for GOP candidate John McCain.
Hurricane spurs McCain to scale back GOP convention
ST. LOUIS - The anticipated impact of Hurricane Gustav today will reverberate all the way from the Gulf states to Minnesota, where GOP presumptive nominee John McCain dramatically scaled back the GOP convention and left open the question of whether he would even attend.
Hofstra still expects Edwards, wife to speak on campus
Hofstra University officials expect former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, to keep their date to speak on campus early next month despite the couple's retreat from the public eye after Edwards admitted last week that he had an extramarital affair with a campaign videographer and lied about it.
ON THE TRAIL
John McCain is 71 years old, and his age has provided late-night comics with some easy punch lines. On "Saturday Night Live," he joined in. "I ask you, what should we be looking for in our next president?" McCain said. "Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old. ... I have the courage, the wisdom, the experience and, most importantly, the oldness necessary," McCain said. "The oldness it takes to protect America, to honor her, love her and tell her about what cute things the cat did."
Huckabee misses mark with Obama remark in NRA speech
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Republican Mike Huckabee responded to an offstage noise during his speech to the National Rifle Association Friday by suggesting it was Barack Obama diving to the floor because someone had aimed a gun at him.
Huckabee: Rev. Wright needs for Obama to lose
Former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said yesterday Barack Obama's bid for the White House is being derailed because his former pastor does not want him to prove the country's race relations have progressed.
ON THE TRAIL
Democrat Barack Obama blamed high gasoline prices Friday on Washington and a political establishment, including his rivals for the presidency, that he says hasn't stood up to oil companies. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton highlighted his vote for an energy bill she opposed and his campaign contributions from oil executives. "The candidates with the Washington experience ... mean well, but they've been in Washington for a long time and even with all that experience they talk about, nothing has happened," Obama said at an Indianapolis gas station. "This country didn't raise fuel efficiency standards for over 30 years." Clinton derided his promise to take on special interests. "When it came time to stand up against the oil companies, to stand against Dick Cheney's energy bill, my opponent voted for it and I voted against it," Clinton said at a rally at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Bush praises McCain at White House endorsement
WASHINGTON - In a Rose Garden news conference that was all smiles, President George W. Bush gave his blessing yesterday to one-time bitter foe John McCain, a day after the Arizona senator clinched the Republican presidential nomination.
McCain can prepare for the big fight
DALLAS - A triumphant John McCain was headed to the White House today for an endorsement by President George W. Bush after easily winning all the delegates he needs to secure the GOP presidential nomination yesterday.
ELECTION 2008: 5 THINGS WE LEARNED
Clinton climbs back in race
WASHINGTON - John McCain might have capped his political resurrection last night by winning the GOP nomination, but the real death-defying feat belonged to Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Ready for battle, McCain takes on Clinton, Obama
WACO, Texas - John McCain made it clear yesterday he is raring to go on his general election campaign - he's already stepping into disputes between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton - but first he must try to finish off GOP rival Mike Huckabee today.
Obama counters Clinton ads as both campaign in Ohio
Barack Obama defended himself yesterday against a flurry of national security attacks from Hillary Rodham Clinton as the two nearly crossed paths here in dueling rallies held just hours apart.
ON THE TRAIL
Republican Party members in Puerto Rico awarded all 20 delegates at stake yesterday to John McCain, who has vowed to help resolve Washington's complicated relationship with the U.S. Caribbean territory. The at-large delegates each will cast one vote at the Republican National Convention this summer. Three "superdelegates," who are not bound by yesterday's results, also have pledged to back McCain, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. The delegates from Puerto Rico helped McCain move closer to clinching the GOP nomination, giving him a total of 996 delegates. His rival, Mike Huckabee, trails with 254 delegates. It will take 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination.
ELECTION 2008: ON THE TRAIL
Possible veep? South Carolina's maverick Gov. Mark Sanford is getting the buzz, if not necessarily the love, over the possibility he could become John McCain's running mate. Some national pundits put him on the short list. On Sunday's "Meet the Press," several guests called Sanford a good fit for the presumptive GOP nominee. Political reporters are speculating about his chances. McCain has declined to speculate about a possible running mate. There are about a dozen other names on the list, including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former McCain rival Mitt Romney and current rival Mike Huckabee.
ELECTION 2008: ON THE TRAIL
Possible veep? South Carolina's maverick Gov. Mark Sanford is getting the buzz, if not necessarily the love, over the possibility he could become John McCain's running mate. Some national pundits put him on the short list. On Sunday's "Meet the Press," several guests called Sanford a good fit for the presumptive GOP nominee. Political reporters are speculating about his chances. McCain has declined to speculate about a possible running mate. There are about a dozen other names on the list, including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former McCain rival Mitt Romney and current rival Mike Huckabee.
McCain claims he's GOP nominee after Wisconsin win
John McCain won a resounding GOP presidential primary victory in Wisconsin last night and promptly pronounced himself the party's nominee.
McCain, Obama surge toward nominations
WASHINGTON - If there was any question that Barack Obama's Wisconsin win puts him in reach of the Democratic nomination, it took a Republican - John McCain - to put that to rest.
McCain earns George H.W. Bush's endorsement
WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, trying to solidify his support among conservatives amid resolute competition from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, yesterday won the endorsement of former President George H.W. Bush.
ON THE TRAIL
Mike Huckabee urged conservatives to shake up the race for the Republican nomination by helping him defeat Sen. John McCain in Wisconsin's primary today. Huckabee told about 100 supporters who braved a snowstorm to hear him speak that a victory would send a message to those who have declared McCain the Republican presidential nominee. "Tomorrow, give the conservatives not only of Wisconsin but also of America a chance to be heard," he said.
McCain says there will be no new taxes if elected
Promise from McCain. Republican John McCain says there will be no new taxes during his administration if he is elected president. "No new taxes," the likely GOP presidential nominee said during a taped interview broadcast yesterday. McCain told ABC's "This Week" that under no circumstances would he increase taxes, and added that he could "see an argument, if our economy continues to deteriorate, for lower interest rates, lower tax rates, and certainly decreasing corporate tax rates," as well as giving people the ability to write off depreciation and eliminating the alternative minimum tax.
ELECTION 2008: ON THE TRAIL
A boost from Bush I. Former President George H.W. Bush will endorse John McCain in Texas on Monday, Republican officials said Friday. The endorsement represents another step in McCain's tightening grip on the GOP presidential nomination. It is a signal to Republican conservatives that they should get over their distaste for McCain - and for Mike Huckabee, it is a signal he should get out of the race. Protocol demands that the current President Bush not swing behind a candidate while the race is still in progress, though he has informally indicated support for McCain.
Romney endorses McCain; Huckabee still in race
WASHINGTON - After Mitt Romney announced he would support John McCain, urging his 280 delegates to follow suit, McCain's campaign claimed it had won the necessary delegates to secure the GOP nomination yesterday.
ELECTION 2008
ON THE TRAIL
A day after winning the Potomac Primary, John McCain was handed another victory when he was unexpectedly endorsed by the entire House GOP leadership. McCain focused much of his criticism yesterday on Barack Obama, Tuesday's Democratic winner. "I respect him and the campaign that he has run, but there's going to come a time when we have to get into specifics," McCain told reporters. Reflecting on the continued lack of enthusiasm among his party voters, his campaign manager Rick Davis said getting the GOP inspired is even more important now than contrasting McCain with Democrats.
Obama's march getting harder for Hillary to stop
WASHINGTON - It's not just that she keeps getting beat.
McCain sweeps primaries, but not conservatives
WASHINGTON - Republican front-runner John McCain survived rough waters in the Potomac Primary yesterday, winning all three contests, but nearly getting swamped by Mike Huckabee in Virginia.
McCain confident of wins in upcoming races
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Confident of sweeping today's Potomac Primary, John McCain yesterday downplayed doubts arising from conservative defections and Mike Huckabee's persistent, and increasingly pointed, campaign.
Bush pledges to support McCain if he's nominated
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush pledged yesterday to assist Sen. John McCain's campaign for the presidency - if he wins the Republican Party nomination - but acknowledged that the Arizona senator has "got some convincing to do" among the party's conservatives.
Losses rack up, Clinton replaces campaign manager
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton replaced her campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with longtime confidante Maggie Williams yesterday - as she dropped the Maine caucus to Barack Obama.
Clinton camp tries to downplay Obama caucus sweep
Hillary Rodham Clinton had hoped her strong showing on Super Tuesday would halt Barack Obama's momentum - but that notion was shattered yesterday as Obama scored blowouts in Washington state, Louisiana and Nebraska.
Huckabee's gains show McCain has work ahead
WASHINGTON - When John McCain's campaign shifts gears for the November election, the GOP's all-but-assured nominee will be on a tightrope, balancing his new role as party leader against his longtime role as party insurgent.
Messy, maybe, but what a ride
Choosing nominees for this year's presidential election has been a messy affair. It's been competitive and unpredictable and brutally Darwinian, as candidates variously vaulted or sank, survived near-death or slipped into oblivion. One thing it hasn't been is boring.
Obama sweeps, gains momentum
Hillary Rodham Clinton had hoped her strong showing on Super Tuesday would halt Barack Obama's momentum - but that notion was shattered yesterday as Obama scored blowouts in Washington state, Louisiana and Nebraska.
Huckabee's gains show McCain has work ahead
WASHINGTON - When John McCain's campaign shifts gears for the November election, the GOP's all-but-assured nominee will be on a tightrope, balancing his new role as party leader against his longtime role as party insurgent.
Clinton takes aim at Obama's health care plan
TACOMA, Wash. - It's been a calling card of her opponent's campaign, but Hillary Rodham Clinton turned the words "yes we can" into her own campaign dagger Friday, stabbing at Barack Obama over his health care proposal.
On the campaign trail: Clinton insulted by anchor
Shuster suspended after Chelsea Clinton comment. A comment about Chelsea Clinton by an MSNBC anchorman could forestall Hillary Rodham Clinton's participation in debates on that cable channel. Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson on Friday excoriated MSNBC's David Shuster for suggesting the campaign had "pimped out" Chelsea by having her phone superdelegates on her mother's behalf. "I, at this point, can't envision a scenario where we would continue to engage in debates on that network," Wolfson said. Shuster has been suspended. The network said it was hopeful that its next debate, scheduled Feb. 26, would take place as planned.
McCain woos conservatives, Romney supporters
WASHINGTON - With his chief rival out of the way, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain yesterday took his first steps toward reconciling with distrustful conservatives and took aim at liberal Democrats as he looked ahead to November.
McCain on path to nomination
WASHINGTON - Now that the delegate count from the 21 states in the Republicans' Super Tuesday is becoming clearer, John McCain increasingly looks like a winner in the race for the GOP nomination.
Overpowered by McCain, Romney vows to fight
BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney pledged to fight all the way to the Republican nominating convention this summer if necessary, despite being overpowered by John McCain in Super Tuesday contests.
McCain rides on a wave of optimism
PHOENIX - In July, when John McCain got off the plane in New Hampshire, he carried his own bags.
Primary breakdown: the Long Island factor
Sen. Hillary Clinton won solid victories over Sen. Barack Obama on Long Island and across New York State last night in the state's presidential primary, and Sen. John McCain handily won the Republican contest.
ELECTION 2008: Ten Things We learned On Super Tuesday
The biggest single primary day in American history, stretched across 24 states sea to sea, pushed Republican John McCain ever closer to his party's nomination but left Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama locked in a contest with no quick end in sight.
ELECTION 2008: No one scores Super knockout
WASHINGTON - With the biggest wins in the 21-state mega-primary yesterday, John McCain began to pull away from chief rival Mitt Romney and moved toward clinching the nomination.
ELECTION 2008: Ten Things We learned On Super Tuesday
The biggest single primary day in American history stretched across 24 states, pushed Republican John McCain within reach of his party’s nomination and gave Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton a major lift in her battle with Barack Obama.
Huckabee, with wins in South, vows to fight on
WASHINGTON - Mike Huckabee said yesterday that he would press on with his White House candidacy, emboldened by wins in the South.
ELECTION 2008: No one scores Super knockout
WASHINGTON - With the most wins in the splintered 21- state mega-GOP primary yesterday, John McCain solidified his role as the Republican's presidential front-runner but failed to decisively pull away.
Deadly storms rip through South
ATKINS, Ark. - Tornadoes across four Southern states tore through homes, ripped the roof off a shopping mall and blew apart warehouses in a rare spasm of violent winter weather that killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more.
A confident McCain arrives in New York City
The Straight Talk Express rolled into Manhattan yesterday, a day before Super Tuesday, carrying Republican primary front-runner John McCain, who campaigned with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-governor George Pataki.
Polls: Obama gaining on Clinton in NY, NJ
ALBANY - Though Hillary Rodham Clinton has a strong lead, Barack Obama is gaining ground among Democratic presidential primary voters in New York and New Jersey, new Quinnipiac University polls revealed yesterday.
Terrorism still a key issue in presidential race
WASHINGTON - If Rudy Giuliani couldn't make terrorism a winning issue in this year's presidential contest, the temptation is to think that no one can.
Clinton, Obama race for nod as McCain pulls ahead
WASHINGTON - With a boost from New York, John McCain is looking more certain than ever to become the Republican nominee after Tuesday's mega-mega-primary.
ELECTION 2008: REPUBLICANS
Romney narrows focus
DENVER - Republican Mitt Romney is conceding the bulk of the Northeast to rival John McCain, counting instead on his home state of Massachusetts, a split in California and wins in a series of caucus states to extend his presidential campaign beyond Super Tuesday.
McCain, Romney tussle over conservative values
Fresh off a victory in Florida and with the support of primary dropout Rudy Giuliani, John McCain squared off last night with Mitt Romney in a Republican debate over who has the most legitimate claim to holding conservative values.
Presidential candidates go head-to-head on Feb. 5
WASHINGTON - In New York and across the country, the Super Tuesday ballot just got less supersized.
Rudy loses in Florida; may throw support to McCain
ORLANDO, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani failed his own test as a presidential contender yesterday, coming in third in the must-win primary here and clearing the way, sources said, for him to quit and endorse the Florida winner, his friend John McCain, today.
Rudy's camp discussing exit if he fails in Florida
This could be "Goodbye Rudy" Tuesday.
Florida's McCain-Romney contest may oust Giuliani
MIAMI - Rudy Giuliani could be headed for the exits after today's do-or-die primary here, likely the odd man out as the GOP presidential campaign appears to be narrowing to a race mainly between John McCain and Mitt Romney.
Giuliani campaigns down to the wire in Florida
VERO BEACH, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani and his troupe found themselves in familiar surroundings in the darkened hall of the Italian American Civic Association here as the former mayor made a plea for badly needed votes in tomorrow's all-important Florida primary.
Editorial: God on the American campaign trail
The intensity of God-talk is already off the charts in this presidential campaign. We could all use some sensible restraint and some reflection on the history of the church-state debate, dating back to the nation's earliest days.
Giuliani vague about post-Fla. campaign plans
ORLANDO, Fla. - With a third-place showing staring him in the face, Rudy Giuliani ducked questions yesterday about whether he will stay in the race if he loses Tuesday's must-win Florida primary.
Republicans want to redo New York primary ballots
State Republicans have touched off an 11th-hour storm by trying to change the GOP presidential primary ballot in a way that could give Rudy Giuliani, their preferred candidate, better name display at the polls.
ELECTION 2008: ON THE TRAIL
Kucinich withdraws. Dennis Kucinich yesterday abandoned his second long-shot bid for the White House as he faces a tough fight to hold onto his other job - U.S. congressman. The six-term House member said he would make a formal announcement today. Kucinich, 61, has four challengers in the Democratic congressional primary March 4, and earlier this week he made an urgent appeal on his Web site for funds for his re-election.
ELECTION 2008
They rip Hillary, sidestep Rudy
BOCA RATON, Fla. - In the crucial last debate before next week's must-win Florida primary, Rudy Giuliani failed to break away from the pack as the GOP presidential contenders discussed the economy last night and attacked Hillary Rodham Clinton more than each other.
Polls show Giuliani tied for third in Florida
ESTERO, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani's make-or-break state appears to be breaking him.
In Florida, Rudy criticizes rivals as lead slips
Still slipping in the polls, Rudy Giuliani kept up a strategy of measured criticism of his opponents, even as supporters for one of them shouted him down at a Florida campaign stop.
Giuliani's celebrity may not be enough in Florida
CELEBRATION, Fla. - With his rivals for the Republican nomination descending on Florida to campaign today, Rudy Giuliani must accomplish one key objective to win its crucial Jan. 29 primary: finally turn his celebrity into votes.