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8/19/2008 | Presidential Issues
Exclusive: McCain to name VP on Aug. 29
Politico.com
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to celebrate his 72nd birthday on Aug. 29 by naming his running mate at a huge rally in the battleground state of Ohio, Republican sources said. That’s a week from Friday, and the day after his rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, accepts the Democratic nomination at a 70,000-person spectacular in a Denver stadium. The campaign has begun building a crowd of 10,000 for Dayton, Ohio, according to an organizer. McCain is scheduled to appear with his running mate at a large-scale event in Pennsylvania shortly thereafter. Senior Republicans are in the dark about who he’ll name, although they say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty are prime contenders after a trial balloon by McCain gave him very negative feedback about the idea of picking an abortion-rights running mate such as Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the first secretary of homeland security.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/19/2008 | Presidential Issues
Who's No. 2? Obama Keeps Everybody Guessing
WashingtonPost.com
This is Veep Week. That, in reality, is about all that anyone outside Sen. Barack Obama's inner, inner circle knows -- that sometime before next week the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will announce his running mate. Beyond that, the political world is in a zone of fevered speculation. Nothing is certain, and one sign of how jittery everyone is about the timing and the choice came yesterday afternoon, when the gossipy Drudge Report posted an item that said, "Paper: Obama may announce VP in AM." That set off alarms in newsrooms across the country until Obama advisers shot it down -- although it was not clear exactly what they were shooting down, other than that the announcement would come early this morning. As Obama completed his Hawaii vacation, there was a widespread assumption, based on nothing solid from the campaign, that he could make his announcement early this week and stage a multi-day rollout. Now, in a twist that goes against recent history, there are signs that Obama may wait to announce his choice until this weekend or just before in hopes of providing a big boost before the convention opens Monday in Denver.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/19/2008 | Abortion, Abstinence, Presidential Issues
Obama risking pro-life backlash
The Washington Times
Barack Obama's pursuit of evangelical voters has pushed the abortion issue to the fore of the campaign debate and risks mobilizing pro-life voters - who so far have been apathetic about Republican John McCain - to oppose the Democrat. "Obama might think he´s making inroads by bringing up the reduction of abortion, but putting the issue on the table makes it fair game to explore how extreme he really is," said Justin Taylor, a book editor and evangelical blogger. Mr. Obama has talked about reducing the number of "unwanted pregnancies" and is trying to appeal to pro-life voters with a platform aimed at reducing factors that lead to abortions, such as poverty and lack of sex education for young people. But the Illinois Democrat remains unapologetically pro-choice, and his voting record on the issue has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks. Pro-life groups point to Mr. Obama's opposition in the Illinois legislature to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act and to his 2007 statement to Planned Parenthood that he hopes one of his first acts as president would be to sign a bill that would eliminate state and local government restrictions on abortion.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Alan Chambers, President, Exodus InternationalRev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource NetworkChuck Colson, Prison FellowshipSteve Curtis, LifeCommercials.comMarjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony ListScott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus InternationalTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesLen Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy CouncilWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumTim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPactGeorgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No MoreRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle ForumChristopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy CentersDavid Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family InstituteRandy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus InternationalDavid Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com8/18/2008 | Character and Ethics, Presidential Issues
McCain protests NBC coverage
Politico.com
Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) campaign manager Rick Davis asked Sunday for a meeting with Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, to protest what the campaign called signs that the network is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the presidential race." Davis made the request Sunday in a letter that is part of an aggressive effort by McCain to counter news coverage he considers critical. In this case, the campaign is objecting to a statement by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Meet the Press" questioning whether McCain might have gotten a heads-up on some of the questions that were asked of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who was the first candidate to be interviewed Saturday night by Pastor Rick Warren at a presidential forum on faith. Warren told the audience that McCain was being held in "a cone of silence" so he wouldn't hear the questions, which were similar for both candidates. Warren referred again to "the cone of silence" when McCain came onstage, and the senator joked: "I was trying to hear through the wall." Mitchell reported that some "Obama people" were suggesting "that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well prepared." A McCain aide said that is not the case: "Senator McCain was in a motorcade led by the United States Secret Service and held in a green room with no broadcast feed."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy AnalysisPhil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipJeffrey Conway, Former CFO, Ruth’s Chris SteakhouseTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteChuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage FoundationWilliam Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Coordinator of the Apolo, Westminster Theological SeminaryRon Ferner, Dean of the School of Business and Leadership, Philadelphia Biblical UniversityLou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT CorporationMike Gottfried, Founder, Team FocusRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationWayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studie, Phoenix SeminaryColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchJulius Kim, Westminster Seminary CaliforniaPhillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of BusinessPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryJennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage FoundationGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkAlex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical SeminaryFran McGowen, Founder and President , CarSenseDavid "Mac" Mcquiston, President/CEO, CEO Forum, Inc.Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage FoundationJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological SeminaryAndrew Peterson, Reformed Theological Seminary, Virtual CampusVern Poythress, Westminster Theological SeminaryGale Radebaugh, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ret.), Pfizer ResearchPhil Ryken, President-Elect , Wheaton CollegeChuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI FundsJohn Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias ResDavid Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com8/18/2008 | Presidential Issues
Obama's Credibility Gap --Large and Growing
Townhall.com
The consensus on yesterday's forum at Saddleback Valley Community Church is that Senator McCain had an exceptional night, that Rick Warren pulled off a very difficult job, and that Senator Obama was smooth as usual except for his "above my pay grade" gaffe, which is one of those phrases that will stick and hurt. Obama also had on display yesterday a very troubling slipperiness that is increasingly defining him. The senator has tried, somewhat successfully for the time being, to slip away from his associations with Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. He has also managed to slip into a "reformer" shtick that has zero connection to his hyper-partisan voting record. But yesterday he tried to slip past at least two issues on which such obfuscation shouldn't work --same sex marriage and Senate ethics reform. My point here is not to argue the policy positions Obama takes, but to point out his firm denial of his real positions on both issues. He flat out distorted his positions, and did so without even an arched eye-brow from the MSM.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/17/2008 | Presidential Issues
8-16-08-Top Evangelical Leaders Give Reaction to Senators John McCain and Barack Obama at the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency
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Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/17/2008 | Politics, Presidential Issues
Transcript for Evangelical Leaders' Teleconference Re: Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency
Click on Headline for Entire Written Transcript
News Guests would like to thank everyone for joining our teleconference tonight. I’m Debbie Hamilton, President of News Guests, and Felicia Horton is our National Media Director, who was at the event tonight at Saddleback. The reason for our teleconference is to give some our top evangelical leaders and commentators on this call tonight the chance to react to tonight’s Civil Forum on the Presidency that Pastor Rick Warren just finished hosting, as you know, at Saddleback Community Church. Martha Zoller is our moderator tonight, and we ask you that you go ahead and not only ask questions, but importantly, because this call is being recorded, when asking a question you must announce your name and media organization and direct the question at one of our commentators by name. And our commentators tonight are Tom Minnery, Vice-President of Focus on the Family, Phil Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values in Ohio, Janet Folger, President and national radio host of Faith 2 Action, and Bishop Harry Jackson, Sr., Pastor of Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C. and author of The Black Contract With America On Moral Values.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/15/2008 | Presidential Issues
LEADING EVANGELICALS REACT TO “SADDLEBACK SHOWDOWN”
NewsGuests.Com and Hamilton Strategies
MEDIA ADVISORY August 14, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Felicia Horton: 484-653-8787 felicia@NewsGuests.com or Deborah Hamilton: 215-815-7716 debbie@NewsGuests.com LEADING EVANGELICALS REACT TO “SADDLEBACK SHOWDOWN” CIVIL FORUM ON THE PRESIDENCY PRESS CONFERENCE CALL SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2008 10:30 P.M. EDT– FOR REPORTERS, PRODUCERS AND HOSTS ONLY WHO: Some of the nation’s top evangelical leaders – Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family; Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior pastor, Hope Christian Church and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition; Janet Folger, President and Founder of Faith2Action and national radio host; Phil Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values, among others. Martha Zoller, Talk Radio World Today Host will be the moderator. WHAT: Press Conference Call to gauge reaction of conservatives and evangelicals to the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, moderated by Pastor Rick Warren. The Forum takes place on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 and features Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. WHEN: Press teleconference call takes place at 10:30 EDT/7:30 PDT by calling: Toll-free: 1-888-296-6828. Passcode is: 418647# (announce name and media organization). If you would like to receive speaker bios, transcripts and/or audio versions of the interviews, please email Debbie@NewsGuests.com. INFO: This press call event provides an opportunity for an informed response to the event at Saddleback Church, thus providing an expanded perspective on how evangelicals see the relationship between faith and public policy. The press conference call will give reporters access to alternative views on each candidate’s presentation at the Saddleback Forum. NewsGuests.com is a public relations firm providing prepared guests on a wide variety of provocative topics. For more information, visit www.NewsGuests.com.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/13/2008 | Presidential Issues
Virginia's Warner tapped for Democrats' key speech
My Way News
HONOLULU (AP) - Mark Warner, Virginia's former governor and its Democratic candidate for the Senate, has been tapped to be the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, a plum spot that is often a springboard to national prominence. Four years ago another candidate for the Senate - Barack Obama of Illinois - used the keynote address to begin a rise in national politics expected to reach the Democratic nomination for president. Obama's campaign called Warner an innovative businessman and bipartisan leader in formally announcing his convention role Wednesday. Placing Warner in the national spotlight could help boost his campaign in Virginia, where he is trying to win the Senate seat of retiring Republican John Warner. Obama is also campaigning hard in Virginia, a state that Republican George W. Bush won in the last two elections but one the Obama campaign thinks could turn to the Democrats.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/13/2008 | Presidential Issues
Book on Obama Hopes to Repeat Anti-Kerry Feat
The New York Times
In the summer of 2004 the conservative gadfly Jerome R. Corsi shot to the top of the best-seller lists as co-author of “Unfit for Command,” the book attacking Senator John Kerry’s record on a Vietnam War Swift boat that began the larger damaging campaign against Mr. Kerry’s war credentials as he sought the presidency. Almost exactly four years after that campaign began, Mr. Corsi has released a new attack book painting Senator Barack Obama, the Democrats’ presumed presidential nominee, as a stealth radical liberal who has tried to cover up “extensive connections to Islam” — Mr. Obama is Christian — and questioning whether his admitted experimentation with drugs in high school and college ever ceased.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/12/2008 | Presidential Issues
How Clooney offers good friend Obama advice on issues from body language to Iraq
The Mail Online
George Clooney once famously declared he could never run for public office because he’d ‘slept with too many women, done too many drugs and been to too many parties’. But now the Hollywood heart-throb has entered the political arena at the highest level – by becoming an unofficial adviser to US Presidential front-runner Barack Obama. Oscar-winner Clooney, 47, is said to be helping the Democratic candidate to polish his image at home and abroad. But he is also sharing with Obama his strong opinions on Iraq and the Middle East.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/12/2008 | Oil and Gas, Presidential Issues
Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote
TheHill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday night dropped her staunch opposition to a vote on offshore oil drilling in the House. Republicans, reacting to high gas prices, have demanded a vote on additional oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf, where drilling is currently blocked by a moratorium. Until now, Pelosi (D-Calif.) has resisted the idea as a “hoax.” But in an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, she indicated that she was open to a vote.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/11/2008 | Presidential Issues
Plans for Clinton convention rallies intensify
The Hill
Frustrated supports of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) are planning multiple rallies at the Democratic convention in Denver, coupled with television and print advertisements. The disenchanted Democrats want to express their disappointment with the party’s presidential primary process. The Denver Group, formed a couple of months ago by two Clinton backers, says it has filmed a television commercial and is looking to air it soon. The fledgling group adds that it has received such a strong response to its scheduled Aug. 26 reception in Denver that it had to book an overflow room.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/7/2008 | Presidential Issues
Have the Clintons Gotten Over It?
Time Magazine
The July 31 cocktail reception outside Palo Alto, Calif., had been billed as an evening for letting bygones be bygones, a coming together of Hillary Clinton's Silicon Valley backers with Barack Obama's to help the New York Senator retire her campaign debt. But as Clinton took questions from the 150 or so people who had paid $500 and up a head to listen, it became clear that the healing process was far from over. "For so many of my supporters, just like so many of Barack's supporters, this was a first-time investment of heart and soul and money and effort and sleepless nights and miles of travel," Clinton said. "You just don't turn it off like that."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/6/2008 | Presidential Issues
McCain visiting motorcycle rally, nuke power plant
Yahoo News
STURGIS, S.D. - Thousands of motorcyclists greeted Republican presidential candidate John McCain with an approving roar Monday as he sought blue-collar and heartland support by visiting a giant motorcycle rally. "As you may know, not long ago a couple hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I'll take the roar of 50,000 Harleys any day," McCain said, referring to Democrat Barack Obama's recent visit to the German capital. Billed as the largest event of its kind in the world, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has become something of an annual bikers' Woodstock during the past 70 years. It features nine nights of entertainment, with bands including Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd and REO Speedwagon. McCain played to a crowd that paused for a veterans salute. He criticized Obama for supporting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq while opposing efforts to reduce record-high energy prices. "My opponent wants to set a date to come home. I want us to come home with victory and honor so we will never go back again," the Arizona senator said.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/5/2008 | Presidential Issues
Anti-Obama Bloggers Say They Were Silenced
The Sun
Web loggers who are campaigning against Senator Obama's presidential run are accusing Google and Obama supporters of silencing them after their Web logs were marked as spam and their accounts temporarily frozen. On Thursday, hours after publishing a post about an online petition demanding that Mr. Obama publicly produce his birth certificate, an associate professor of business administration at Brooklyn College, Mitchell Langbert, found that he could no longer access his Web log. Google's Blogger hosting service had suspended "Mitchell Langbert's Blog," which Mr. Langbert describes as "two-thirds academic stuff I'm working on and one-third politics," until it could verify the Web log was not a "spam blog," or a site designed solely to increase the page views of associated Web sites.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/4/2008 | Presidential Issues
House Republicans go back on the floor Monday to talk gas prices
Politico.Com
Continuing with their guerilla tactics from last week, House Republicans will be back on the floor Monday to talk gas prices, even though Congress is in recess, and they may stay there all week. More than a dozen Republicans have already committed to make appearances, according to House GOP leadership aide, including National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.). Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who led Friday's five-hour talkathon after the House shut down for the August recess, are also expected to be there, according to this aide. "In an urgent memo sent to GOP Members and staff Saturday (“A Call to Action on American Energy”), Republican Leader John Boehner (R-) and Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) hailed Friday’s action, and encouraged House Republicans to return to the Capitol beginning Monday morning to help keep the historic effort going," said a press release just released by Minority Leader Boehner's office.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)8/4/2008 | Presidential Issues
Gwyneth Paltrow films ad for Barack Obama
Telegraph.Com
The American actress, who lives in London with her husband, Chris Martin, the singer in the rock group Coldplay, leads a video encouraging ex-pats to register to vote from overseas in the presidential election in November. Speaking alongside several other Americans living abroad, Miss Paltrow says: "Start now - right now. I'll be voting from London, but you can vote from anywhere. If you live abroad, you've got to do it. Every single vote will count." She asks American ex-pats: "Where on earth will you vote?" The video concludes: "Vote Democrat. Vote Obama. Vote From Abroad." The video, which will be distributed on the internet, was produced by Democrats Abroad, a division of the party devoted to persuading the millions of Americans living outside the country and eligible to vote to keep participating in domestic politics.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)7/31/2008 | American History, Presidential Issues
Political ads hit MTV, Comedy Central
San Francisco Chronicle
A national political ad appeared on Comedy Central TV for the first time Wednesday night. Why hasn't that happened before? Because nobody thought voters were watching. But public perception of the channel, the home of such shows as "South Park," has changed as "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" have become must-stops for major political players and the places where many younger, well-informed voters get their news. With that in mind, the online hub MoveOn sponsored a 30-second pro-Obama spot on MTV on Tuesday and on Comedy Central Wednesday night. It followed an anti-Obama ad broadcast on MTV last week that was paid for by the conservative group Let Freedom Ring. That political ad was the first ever to appear on MTV. The ads are a sign that the opposing sides are trying to court younger voters in unprecedented ways.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)7/30/2008 | American History, Presidential Issues
New Front Opens In Battle For Young Voters
National Journal Online
Every election cycle raises the same fundamental question about young voters: Will they matter this time around? While turnout among this bloc was up in this year's primaries -- 6.5 million people between the ages of 18 and 30 voted, nearly doubling results from the 2000 election -- experts debate whether this will be the year of the youth vote. Barack Obama's own youth and outsider message seem to resonate with those under 30, and he holds a strong lead there, 61 percent to John McCain's 31 percent, according to Gallup. But partisans from both sides are expanding efforts to reach out to young voters, and the GOP is by no means ceding this group to the Illinois senator. MTV has created a new opening for those trying to reach young people this year by overturning its 27-year ban on political advertising. Jeannie Kedas, executive vice president of communications for MTV, said that, "given that the youth vote has been increasingly engaged in the election this year and has played a growing role," the network decided it was time to take a second look at its advertising policy. The network also thought it would complement their Choose or Lose initiative, a get-out-the-vote effort the network has sponsored every election year since 1992. According to Kedas, the network will accept ads from candidates and party committees and will consider third-party ads on a case-by-case basis. Ads from two outside groups hit the air recently; both took Obama as their subject, although that was about the only thing they had in common politically. Let Freedom Ring, a conservative advocacy nonprofit, became the first group to take advantage of MTV's opening, launching an attack against Obama late last week. In "Both Ways Barack," (subscription), an announcer says that Obama's not a flip-flopper -- "flip-floppers only hold one position at a time." The ad goes on to cite handgun policy, campaign financing and Iraq as areas where the Democratic candidate has made contradictory statements. The spot debuted on VH1, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News on Tuesday and was then released on MTV Wednesday. Let Freedom Ring President Colin Hanna told MTV News that the group did not make a concerted effort to run the first political ad on the network, but that he was pleased to be "breaking the mold." He also acknowledged that targeting MTV was an effort to reach out to a different audience and said that if he had the ad buy to do over again, he might have opted to spend more resources there than on Fox News. "We want to go after people who are in the political middle and are not fully committed on this race," he said. MoveOn.org, which has endorsed Obama, responded Monday by releasing a pro-Obama ad on MTV and Comedy Central, both owned by Viacom. "It Could Happen To You," (subscription) spoofs public service announcements to "warn" young people that supporting Obama could lead them to regain a sense of hope. "I never thought it could happen to me," a young man says. "I have hope," another reveals. The ad features actors Rider Strong of "Boy Meets World" and Amber Benson of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and was voted the funniest video in MoveOn's "Obama In 30 Seconds" ad contest. MoveOn is spending $150,000 to run the spot for one week. "It Could Happen To You" is reported to be the first political ad to run on Comedy Central, home to faux-news shows, "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," where a sizable number of young people turn to get their political information. "I think that the campaigns are smart to pay special attention to reaching out to young people," Kedas said. Neither the McCain or Obama campaign has yet announced plans to purchase time on MTV. By Mary Gilbert
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