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ON THE TRAIL

June 24, 2008

Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton plan to campaign together Friday in the small New Hampshire town of Unity, their first joint appearance meant to ease tensions over the closely fought Democratic primary. New Hampshire is critical battleground state in November. George W. Bush won the state in 2000, but Democrat John Kerry narrowly captured it in 2004. The state also has one of the most competitive Senate races this year, with former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen looking to oust GOP Sen. John Sununu.The New Hampshire rally will come a day after Obama and Clinton meet Thursday at a Washington hotel with former Clinton donors. Clinton will introduce Obama to her financial backers, who have been slow to embrace her one-time opponent. Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said she will pitch to her supporters that they should support Obama "with everything we still need to accomplish and with the stakes as high as they are."

John McCain said yesterday the search for alternatives to the country's dependence on foreign oil is so urgent that he's willing to throw money at it. The Arizona senator proposed a $300-million prize for whoever can develop a better automobile battery, and $5,000 tax credits for consumers who buy new zero-emission vehicles. "In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure. From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success," McCain said in a speech at Fresno State University. As for funding, the senator said: "I could pay for it by canceling three pork-barrel projects that are unnecessary and unwanted."

Bob Barr, a fiery former GOP congressman who gained national prominence for doggedly pursuing impeachment of President Bill Clinton has some Republicans worried he'll play spoiler in a tight presidential contest. His Libertarian Party bid for the White House is the longest of long shots, but political experts say he may be able to exploit the unease some die-hard conservatives still feel about Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting. Combined with the surge in turnout among Democrats during primaries and a difficult political climate for Republicans, they see a recipe for trouble for the GOP. "Bob could be the Ralph Nader of 2008," said Dan Schnur, a GOP consultant who worked on McCain's 2000 campaign but not in this contest. Nader is the third-party candidate many Democrats blame for George W. Bush's narrow win in 2000.