Presidential Issues

Archive: ‹ First  < 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 > 

McCain needs to woo the right

The Washington Times

Sen. John McCain couldn't win a majority of conservative voters in Arizona on Super Tuesday, exposing the deep rift that he faces today when he speaks to the major annual gathering of conservative activists here in the District. The Conservative Political Action Conference is taking on the significance of a State of the Union address for Mr. McCain and his chief Republican presidential rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who are also scheduled to speak. Each is seeking to corral the backing of the conservatives who serve as the backbone of their party. Mr. McCain yesterday asked conservatives to "calm down a bit" and said he will use today's speech to tell them that they have the same goals on issues such as national security. "We all share common principles, common conservative principles, and we should coalesce around those issues in which we are in agreement, and I hope respectfully disagree on the few specifics that there is disagreement on," Mr. McCain told reporters in Arizona. It's the same tactic that former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani used with the CPAC gathering last year, when he told them, "My 80 percent ally is not my 20 percent enemy."

Women's support not a sure thing

The Washington Times

Maria Shriver, Caroline Kennedy and other high-profile women are backing Sen. Barack Obama instead of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who did well among women overall on Super Tuesday. While Mrs. Clinton continues to do well and enjoys the support of big names such as Barbra Streisand as well as backing from the National Organization for Women's political action committee, other big names remain silent or have surprisingly endorsed Mr. Obama, of Illinois. Outspoken Hollywood activist and actress Susan Sarandon, who campaigned for John Edwards, has remained mum about Mrs. Clinton's prospects. "I think the Clintons think this would have been much easier for them and have been thrown for a loop," says Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus. "That Susan Sarandon and some of the feminists that you would expect to be out early and loud and haven't been, they may not consider her to be a true feminist."

Democratic dead-heat 'not good news' says Dean

BreitBart.com

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday voiced concern over the prospect of a brokered convention at the end of the party's White House nominating contests. "The idea that we can afford to have a big fight at the convention and then win the race in the next eight weeks, I think, is not a good scenario," Dean said according to excerpts of an interview with NY1 television. In state nominating contests so far, no clear winner has emerged among Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the party's nomination ahead of November's presidential vote to replace George W. Bush in the White House. "I think we will have a nominee sometime in the middle of March or April. But if we don't, then we're going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement," said Dean, who failed in his bid for the party's nomination in 2004. "Because I don't think we can afford to have a brokered convention -- that would not be good news for either party." A brokered convention has not been seen in decades, and harkens back to an era of shady political deal-making when powerbrokers and cash kings -- instead of regular voters -- chose one candidate over another at a raucous, smoke-filled convention hall.

Huckabee Points to Southern Strength

BreitBart.com

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said Tuesday he would press on with his White House candidacy, emboldened by wins in the South. "The one way you can't win a race is to quit it, and until somebody beats me, I'm going to answer the bell for every round of this fight," the former Arkansas governor said in an AP interview from Little Rock. Huckabee beat rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney in West Virginia, Alabama and his home state, and early returns showed him leading in a few more Super Tuesday states. He said he would emerge from the virtual national primary contests as the alternative to McCain, the Arizona senator and Republican front-runner. "I've got to say that Mitt Romney was right about one thing—this is a two-man race. He was just wrong about who the other man in the race was. It's me, not him," Huckabee said.

McCain Seizes Command of GOP Race

WASHINGTON (AP) - campaign_minute Sen. John McCain seized command of the race for the Republican presidential nomination early Wednesday, winning delegate-rich primaries from the East Coast to California. Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama traded victories in an epic struggle with no end in sight. Clinton won the biggest state, California, in the Democratic campaign, capitalizing on backing from Hispanic voters. Obama fashioned victories in Alabama and Georgia on the strength of black support. McCain's own victory in the Republican race in the Golden State dealt a crushing blow to his closest pursuer, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "We've won some of the biggest states in the country," McCain told cheering supporters at a rally in Phoenix, hours before California made his Tuesday Super. An underdog for months, he proclaimed himself the front-runner at last, and added. "I don't really mind it one bit." In the competition that counted the most, the Arizona senator had 525 delegates, more than 40 percent of the 1,191 needed for the nomination—and far ahead of his rivals. Even so, Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said they were staying in the race.

Please install Flash® and turn on Javascript.

As 24 States Vote, a Grab for Delegates, and an Edge

The New York Times

Brace yourself. Forty-three presidential nominating contests in 24 states. Channel upon channel of the commentators talking about exit polls. The biggest prize of the night — California — being decided well after most viewers have headed for bed. A total of 3,156 delegates allocated under arcane rules on what could be the most significant night of the 2008 campaign to date. This is a guide of things to look for on Tuesday night— key states, trends, interesting demographic developments, campaign-ending or campaign-extending developments — starting from when the first polls close (Georgia at 7 p.m.) to when the voting is completed in California at 11 p.m. Eastern time. The Big Picture There are two ways to approach the results. The first is old-fashioned: which candidates rack up the most states. But this is about more than popular vote totals; the point of these contests is to allocate delegates to the national conventions.

Presidential hopefuls make their California Super Tuesday push

The Los Angeles Times

On the final day before the presidential campaign's biggest prize thus far, today's delegate-rich California primary, the candidates called on influential friends and legions of volunteers to rally their faithful one last time before the polls open. Republican candidate Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, made a quick stop in Long Beach on Monday night. Rival John McCain, the Arizona senator, planned to jet into San Diego today during a cross-county hopscotch. Both are offering their last-gasp appeals to an electorate witnessing one of the most influential and competitive California presidential primaries ever, for Republicans and Democrats alike.

Clinton health plan may mean tapping pay

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans. The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment." Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, "it will be affordable for everyone."

Fewer Want Bill Clinton Back in the White House

The New York Times

The negative coverage of Bill Clinton over the past couple of weeks seems to have hurt his standing with the public. A new survey finds that fewer voters these days like the idea of the former president being back in the White House. Forty one percent of registered voters told the latest Pew Research Center survey that they disliked the idea of Mr. Clinton back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which could happen if his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, is elected president. In October, 34 percent of voters disliked the idea.

NewsGuests.Com will be at CPAC

NewsGuests.Com representatives, Debbie Hamilton and Felicia Horton will be attending CPAC 2008. Clients available for media interviews: Colin Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring, and Moderator for CPAC's seminar, A Conservative Approach to Health Care Reform. Ralf Augstroze, Executive Director of The Providence Forum, a non-profit corporation whose mission is to re-instill and promote a Judeo-Christian worldview within American culture and to advance faith, ethics and moral values. Contact Information: Debbie Hamilton (215)815-7716 Felicia Horton (484)653-8787 NewsGuests.Com, (800)486-0176

McCain, Romney spar before Super Tuesday

CNNPolitics.com

SIMI VALLEY, California (CNN) -- Front-runners John McCain and Mitt Romney attacked each other's conservative credentials as they fought for their party's top spot during the final showdown before the Super Tuesday contests. The sharpest exchange in the debate came when Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was asked about the McCain campaign's charge that he once said he favored a strict timetable for removing troops from Iraq. Romney has consistently denied ever having backed a timetable and said McCain was taking a small portion of a quote out of context. "It's simply wrong," Romney said. "By the way, raising it a few days before the Florida primary, when there was very little time for me to correct the record, falls in the kind of dirty tricks that Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible."

Clinton Says She Can Control Her Husband

ABC News

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Senator Hillary Clinton, in an interview with ABC News' Cynthia McFadden for ABC News' Nightline, was asked about President Clinton’s controversial comments about race and Senator Obama in the past weeks. Clinton apologized for her husband. “I think whatever he said which was certainly never intended to cause any kind of offense to anyone,” Clinton said, “if it did give offenses then I take responsibility and I’m sorry about that.” "Can you control him?" asked McFadden. “Oh of course,” Clinton replied.

Obama Calls Clinton Divisive Figure

MyWay.Com

DENVER (AP) - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday a Hillary Rodham Clinton presidency would be a step back to the past, turning her husband's image of a bridge to the future against her. The former first lady decried the tenor of his comments in an interview with The Associated Press. "I know it is tempting - after another presidency by a man named George Bush - to simply turn back the clock, and to build a bridge back to the 20th century," the Illinois senator said in Denver. "... It's not enough to say you'll be ready from Day One - you have to be right from Day One," he added in unmistakable criticisms of Clinton, who often claims she's better prepared to govern, and her husband, who pledged during his own presidency to build a bridge to the 21st century.

Giuliani to Exit Presidential Race Today

MyWay.Com

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Following his third place finish in Florida, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to drop out of the presidential race today and endorse Sen. John McCain. Last night, Giuliani stopped short of announcing he was stepping down, but delivered a valedictory speech that was more farewell than fight-on. The former mayor finished a distant third to the winner, McCain, and close second-place finisher Mitt Romney. Republican officials said Giuliani would endorse McCain on Wednesday in California. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the public announcement. "I'm proud that we chose to stay positive and to run a campaign of ideas in an era of personal attacks, negative ads and cynical spin," Giuliani said as supporters with tight smiles crowded behind him. "You don't always win, but you can always try to do it right, and you did."

NY Feminists Accuse Kennedy of Betrayal

BreitBart.Com

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York chapter of The National Organization for Women accused Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of betraying women with his endorsement of Barack Obama, prompting the organization's national office to come to the Massachusetts senator's defense. "Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal," NOW's New York State chapter said in a scorching rebuke. "Senator Kennedy's endorsement of Hillary Clinton's opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard." On Monday, Kennedy, D-Mass., his son Patrick and his niece Caroline Kennedy announced their support for Obama. Edward Kennedy said the country needs a leader who can bring people together and create change. But the move angered the state chapter of NOW, which called Kennedy's decision the "greatest betrayal." "We are repaid with his abandonment!" the statement said. "He's picked the new guy over us. He's joined the list of progressive white men who can't or won't handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton." The group said it was our obligation to "elect, unabashedly, a president that is the first woman after centuries of men who 'know what's best for us.'"

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Mike Gottfried, Founder, Team Focus
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

Kennedy Endorses Obama 'Change in Air'

MyWay.Com

WASHINGTON (AP) - Summoning memories of his brother the slain president, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy led two generations of the First Family of Democratic politics Monday in endorsing Barack Obama for the White House, declaring, "I feel change is in the air." Obama is a man of rare "grit and grace," Kennedy said in remarks salted with scarcely veiled criticism of the Illinois senator's chief rival for the presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as her husband, the former president.

Ted Kennedy embraces Obama

Politico

Rejecting a personal entreaty from President Bill Clinton, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president in a joint appearance on Monday, Democratic sources said. The embrace provides a dramatic rocket for Obama to ride into the frantic, nationwide campaigning ahead of the spate of Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5, the biggest day for nominating contests in U.S. history. Caroline Kennedy, the senator's niece and the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will also appear at the rally, the sources said. Democrats said the endorsement will help Obama with traditional Democratic groups where Clinton has been strong — union households, Hispanics and downscale workers. Also, the nod by the far more experienced member of the Senate adds significant standing to Obama, who is working to prove he has the experience necessary to be president.

The Billary Road to Republican Victory

The New York Times

IN the wake of George W. Bush, even a miracle might not be enough for the Republicans to hold on to the White House in 2008. But what about two miracles? The new year’s twin resurrections of Bill Clinton and John McCain, should they not evaporate, at last give the G.O.P. a highly plausible route to victory. Amazingly, neither party seems to fully recognize the contours of the road map. In the Democrats’ case, the full-throttle emergence of Billary, the joint Clinton candidacy, is measured mainly within the narrow confines of the short-term horse race: Do Bill Clinton’s red-faced eruptions and fact-challenged rants enhance or diminish his wife as a woman and a candidate?

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

The Wall Street Journal

We begin, as one always must now, again, with Bill Clinton. The past week he has traveled South Carolina, leaving discord in his wake. Barack Obama, that "fairytale," is low, sneaky. "He put out a hit job on me." The press is cruelly carrying Mr. Obama's counter-jabs. "You live for it." In Dillon, S.C., according to the Associated Press, on Thursday Mr. Clinton "predicted that many voters will be guided mainly by gender and race loyalties" and suggested he wife may lose Saturday's primary because black voters will side with Mr. Obama. Who is raising race as an issue? Bill Clinton knows. It's the press, and Mr. Obama. "Shame on you," Mr. Clinton said to a CNN reporter. The same day the Web site believed to be the back door of the Clinton war room unveiled a new name for the senator from Illinois: "Sticky Fingers Obama." Bill Clinton, with his trembly, red faced rage, makes John McCain look young. His divisive and destructive daily comportment—this is a former president of the United States—is a civic embarrassment. It is also an education, and there is something heartening in this.

Campaign Frustrates Some Gay Activists

My Way News

NEW YORK (AP) - Few constituencies are as eager for the Republican Party to falter this political season as gay-rights activists. Yet as they observe the Democratic presidential campaign and the rest of the electoral landscape, their high hopes often are mixed with frustration. Even as they expect to support whichever Democrat gets the presidential nomination, many activists are disappointed that the three leading contenders rarely mention gay-rights topics unless responding to a question. "They don't want to broach civil unions, marriage, equalizing benefits for same-sex couples," said Jennifer Chrisler, head of the Family Equality Council, which supports gay and lesbian families. "The vast majority of politicians don't lead, they follow." There are other frustrations as well. Activists were dismayed that the Democratic-led Congress failed to approve two much-anticipated bills late last year - one defining anti-gay assaults as a federal hate crime, the other prohibiting anti-gay job discrimination.

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Mike Gottfried, Founder, Team Focus
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com
Our Mission: We want to stimulate thoughtful debate and presentation of controversial issues on radio and television news and public affairs shows by representing guests who have something to say, and who know how to say it.