World USA 2008 - ZOGBY POLL: MCCAIN 5 POINT LEAD ON OBAMA 0 comments
(AGI) - Washington, 20th August - John McCain has a five-point lead over Barack Obama, says a Zogby poll carried out by Reuters. The Republican candidate for the White House is, say US citizens, better able to manage the economy through the crisis facing the United States at the moment. The poll was conducted at the end of July.
McCain Slams Obama on National Security 0 comments
ORLANDO — Senator John McCain opened up a hard-hitting political attack on Senator Barack Obama’s national security credentials and stepped up his rhetoric against the Russians in Georgia in a speech on Monday aimed at showcasing his ability to be commander-in-chief.
In an address to a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, Mr. McCain criticized what he called Mr. Obama’s “shifting positions’’ on the troop escalation, or surge, in Iraq, and charged that when his rival voted against funding the troops in a single vote in 2007, he had tried to “legislate’’ failure.
“This was back when supporting America’s efforts in Iraq entailed serious political risk,’’ Mr. McCain said. “It was a clarifying moment. It was a moment when political self-interest and the national interest parted ways.’’
Mr. McCain went on: “Instead, Senator Obama commits the greater error of insisting that even in hindsight, he would oppose the surge. Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of retreat and failure for America over the path of success and victory. In short, both candidates in this election pledge to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference, the great difference, is that I intend to win it first.’’
Mr. McCain was referring to a vote against troop funding that Mr. Obama cast in 2007 because the legislation did not include a timetable for withdrawal. Mr. Obama has voted for all other war-financing bills since he entered the Senate in 2005.
Moving on to Georgia, Mr. McCain raised questions about Mr. Obama’s ability to handle the crisis. “Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president,’’ Mr. McCain said. “What’s less apparent is the judgment to be commander in chief. And in matters of national security, good judgment will be at a premium in the term of the next president — as we were all reminded ten days ago by events in the nation of Georgia.’’
Mr. McCain renewed his threat to consider throwing Russia out of the G-8 group of leading industrialized democracies and bar it from membership in the World Trade Organization. As president, he said, he would take a tough line.
“In cooperation with our friends and allies in Europe, we will make it clear to Russia’s rulers that acts of violence and intimidation come at a heavy cost,’’ Mr. McCain said. “There will be no place among G-8 nations, or in the W.T.O., for a modern Russia that acts at times like the old Soviet Union. The Cold War is over, the Soviet empire is gone, and neither one is missed.’’
The Obama campaign was quick to respond to the speech before the veterans group, which Mr. Obama is set to address on Tuesday. Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman, issued this statement: “All his bluster, distortions and negative attacks notwithstanding, it is hard to understand how Senator McCain can at once proclaim his support for the sovereign government of Iraq, and then stubbornly defy their expressed support for a timeline to remove our combat brigades from their country. The difference in this race is that John McCain is intent on spending $10 billion a month on an open-ended war, while Barack Obama thinks we should bring this war to a responsible end and invest in our pressing needs here at home.”
What their opinion about... 0 comments
OPINION IN BRIEF
“[John McCain] should ask Obama to join him in a town meeting on lessons from Russia’s aggression. Both candidates favor NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine, perhaps Vladimir Putin’s next victim. But does Russia’s behavior cause Obama to rethink reliance on ‘soft power’ —dialogue, disapproval, diplomacy, economic carrots and sticks—which Putin considers almost an oxymoron? Does Russia’s resort to military coercion, and its arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles, cause Obama to revise his resistance to missile defense? Obama, unlike McCain, believes Russia belongs in the G-8. Does Obama think Russia should be admitted to the World Trade Organization? Does Obama consider Putin helpful regarding Iran?... McCain must convince voters that Obama’s complacent confidence in the taming abilities of soft power is the effect of liberalism’s scary sentimentalism about a dangerous thing, human nature, and a fiction, ‘the community of nations.’ McCain is hardly the change many people have been eagerly waiting for, but Putin is part of the change we must confront. Until Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, it seemed that not even the Democratic Party could lose this election. But it might if McCain can make it turn on the question of who is ornery enough to give Putin a convincing, deterring telephone call at 3 a.m.”
LIBERTY
“Whatever the political outcome of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, the incident has reminded American voters that in uncertain times it is dangerous to choose a rookie with no foreign policy experience and a juvenile approach to world affairs over one tempered by war who understands that U.N. resolutions might as well be written in disappearing ink. John McCain knows that peace through strength is what defeated the Soviet Union and that it’s peace through strength that will best preserve free nations and advance their interests.”
THE GIPPER
“Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that’s now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated.”
FOR THE RECORD
“The prevailing wisdom 18 months or so ago was that invading Iraq had been, in retrospect, a disastrous blunder. It had led to appalling sectarian fratricide and an ever-climbing body count. Iraqi democracy was deemed a naive pipe dream. Worst of all, it was said, the fighting in Iraq wasn’t advancing the global struggle against Islamist terrorism; by rallying a new generation of jihadists, it was actually impeding it. Opponents of the war clamored loudly for pulling the plug... But what if we had known then what we know now? We know now that the overhauled counterinsurgency strategy devised by General David Petraeus—the ‘surge’ —would prove spectacularly successful, driving Al Qaeda in Iraq from its strongholds, and killing thousands of its fighters, supporters, and leaders. We know now that US losses in Iraq would plummet to the lowest levels of the war, with just five Americans killed in combat in July 2008, compared with 66 fatalities in the same month a year ago—and with 137 in November 2004. We know now that the sectarian bloodletting would be dramatically reduced, with numerous Sunni tribal leaders abandoning their former Al Qaeda allies, and Shi’ite radical Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army being thoroughly routed by the Iraqi military. We know now that by the summer of 2008, the Iraqi government would meet all but three of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress to demonstrate security, economic progress, and political reconciliation. And we know now that, far from being undermined by the campaign in Iraq, the wider war against Islamist violence would show significant progress, with terrorism outside Iraq’s borders having ‘in fact gone way down over the past five years,’ as Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria noted in May—and with popular support for jihadist organizations plummeting across the Muslim world. So what does hindsight counsel today? That Iraq is a pointless quagmire—or that it is a costly but winnable war, in which patience, tenacity, and smarts have a good chance of succeeding?”
FAMILY
“The reaction of the American Left to John Edwards’s sex scandal is nothing short of flabbergasting. Since when is sex outside of marriage a disqualifier for merely speaking at a political convention? Since when is having sexual relations with that woman in your office anything wrong? Since when do we judge? The difference here seems to be that Elizabeth Edwards has cancer. So only fatal disease makes the bonds of marriage sacred? Although the last thing I want to look to be doing is making excuses for adultery—what he did was wrong—the John Edwards incident begs Americans to look in the mirror. If we think what John Edwards did with Rielle Hunter is wrong, why do we think it’s wrong? Because marriage is at the foundation of our society and we should do what we can to protect every last one? Or simply because having fun while your wife is fighting a fatal disease is a lousy thing to do? I don’t know how we can condemn John Edwards when Americans have been known to cheer for cheaters in movies, watch celebs do it all the time as a form of perverse entertainment, and even insist we’re not sure what exactly ‘marriage’ means.”
CULTURE
“Barack Obama, as Shelby Steele has written, departs from the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton brand of politics in that he is far more sophisticated and subtle in how to play on white guilt and how to intimidate. That’s new. But the liberal content and agenda is not new, and this, blacks continue to buy en masse. The points conservatives have been hammering home for the last 20 years have not been for naught. There is increasing awareness among blacks how family breakdown is driving the social problems of the community. This is not lost on Obama. His speeches paying credence to the importance and relevance of personal responsibility are well received among blacks, but also play well to the whites he wishes to reach. But the program behind the words remains comfortably lodged on the far left. Big government answers for everything, redistribution of wealth, use of law as a tool for politics, liberal abortion policies, and legitimization of the gay agenda. The relevant question is... will black politics—black uniform support for liberals—ever change?”
SELECT READER COMMENTS
“I couldn’t agree more with David Limbaugh’s take on the race issue. I’m a white male and I wouldn’t vote for Obama in a hundred years. Not because of his race, but rather for his socialist and anti-American agenda.” —Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
“It is painfully clear that racism is alive and well in America. Unfortunately, Liberals use race, gender, class and religion as tools to further segregate our society, all the while convincing minorities that they are discriminated against. Besides, what ever would people like Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, et al, do for a living if minorities were no longer oppressed?” —Houston, Texas
“During the primary races, on two different occasions, I watched the ‘Meet the Press’ panel discuss the race issue in this election. They, without exception, spoke of the surveys that confirmed that ‘angry white men’ would never vote for Obama and that there was still such severe racial prejudice is this country that a black man could not be elected president. When asked why 97 percent of blacks voted for Obama, this was explained away as ‘black pride.’ A white vote against Obama is prejudice; a black vote for Obama is black pride. These bright intellectuals will not consider that a white vote against Obama might be based on policy differences.” —Hillsborough, California
Despite Assurances, McCain Wasn’t in a ‘Cone of Silence’ 1 comments
ORLANDO, Fla. — Senator John McCain was not in a “cone of silence” on Saturday night while his rival, Senator Barack Obama, was being interviewed at the Saddleback Church in California.
Members of the McCain campaign staff, who flew here Sunday from California, said Mr. McCain was in his motorcade on the way to the church as Mr. Obama was being interviewed by the Rev. Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life.”
The matter is of interest because Mr. McCain, who followed Mr. Obama’s hourlong appearance in the forum, was asked virtually the same questions as Mr. Obama. Mr. McCain’s performance was well received, raising speculation among some viewers, especially supporters of Mr. Obama, that he was not as isolated during the Obama interview as Mr. Warren implied.
Nicolle Wallace, a spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, said on Sunday night that Mr. McCain had not heard the broadcast of the event while in his motorcade and heard none of the questions.
“The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous,” Ms. Wallace said.
Before an audience of more than 2,000 people at the church, the candidates answered questions about policy and social issues.
Mr. Warren, the pastor of Saddleback, had assured the audience while he was interviewing Mr. Obama that “we have safely placed Senator McCain in a cone of silence” and that he could not hear the questions.
After Mr. Obama’s interview, he was joined briefly by Mr. McCain, and the candidates shook hands and embraced.
Mr. Warren started by asking Mr. McCain, “Now, my first question: Was the cone of silence comfortable that you were in just now?”
Mr. McCain deadpanned, “I was trying to hear through the wall.”
Interviewed Sunday on CNN, Mr. Warren seemed surprised to learn that Mr. McCain was not in the building during the Obama interview.
Obama, McCain at Saddleback faith forum give debate preview 0 comments
In their first back-to-back appearance as presidential nominees -- at a forum aimed at evangelicals -- Barack Obama said Saturday his greatest moral failure was his selfishness, while John McCain said it was his first marriage.
The rivals were led through mostly identical questions by Pastor Rick Warren, who presides over the mammoth Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Obama went first, while McCain was sequestered so he would not know the specific question. While not a debate -- there will be three -- the Saturday session showed that Obama's penchant for nuance will face McCain's tendency for directness.
The Obama campaign has been making a major play for faith-based voters -- he has been to Saddleback before -- who in past presidential elections trended Republican or stayed at home.
On the hot-button issue of abortion -- Warren knew going in that Obama supports abortion rights and McCain does not -- Warren asked when a baby is entitled to human rights. Obama said, "Answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade," while McCain said, to applause, "At the moment of conception."
Highlights:
• • On the moral failure question, Obama related his youthful experimentation with drugs and alcohol and said that reflected "a certain selfishness on my part ... I was so obsessed with me ... I could not focus on other people."
McCain paused a moment and said, "The failure of my first marriage." McCain has talked and written about his divorce. In 2002, he told CNN's Larry King, "I was responsible for the breakup of my first marriage, due to my immature and very bad behavior."
• • Obama said he would not have appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas -- the second black on the nation's highest court.
"I would not have nominated Clarence Thomas," Obama said in response to a question about which justice he would not have appointed. "I don't think that he was a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation."
Obama -- who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago -- also said he would not have picked Justice Antonin Scalia "because he and I just disagree."
McCain said he would not have named two picked by Democratic presidents -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer -- and, more important to McCain's quest to solidify his conservative base, two tapped by Republicans, John Paul Stevens and David Souter.
Conservatives consider the appointment of Souter, who turned out to be moderate on the court, a "mistake."
US rivals try to woo Christians 0 comments
US presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama have been trying to woo Christian voters at a televised religious forum in California.
The two men shared a stage for the first time since securing nomination.
Speaking first, Mr Obama defended his support for abortion and same-sex civil unions, but said marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
Republican John McCain affirmed he was pro-life and that he strongly supported preserving the status of marriage.
The forum, hosted by US pastor Rick Warren, was the senators' last joint appearance before their official nomination as the candidates for November's presidential election at their respective party conventions in a few weeks.
Three debates are scheduled to take place after the Democrat and Republican conventions.
Moral failure
Mr Warren is best known for building Saddleback Church into a 20,000-member "mega-church" in Lake Forest, southern California, and for writing The Purpose-Driven Life.
At the beginning of the first hour-long interview, Mr Obama told the pastor that America's greatest moral failure was its insufficient help to the disadvantaged.
The Democratic candidate noted that the Bible had quoted Jesus as saying: "Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me."
He said the maxim should apply to victims of poverty, sexism and racism.
Mr Obama also reaffirmed his belief that marriage should only be a "union between a man and a woman", although he also defended his support for same-sex civil unions and for the granting of similar rights to same-sex partners.
If he were president, he said he would not support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage because the issue was one for state governments to decide.
On abortion, Mr Obama stressed he remained pro-choice and that he believed in the "Roe vs Wade" Supreme Court ruling supporting it.
However, he did say that he would seek to reduce the number of late-term abortions and unwanted pregnancies.
'Pro-life president'
Mr McCain was asked similar questions by Mr Warren. When asked about America's greatest moral shortcoming, he responded by saying that its citizens had failed to "devote ourselves to causes greater than our self-interests".
Appearing to criticise President George W Bush, Mr McCain said that after 11 September 2001 there should have been a push to encourage people to join the army, Peace Corps and other voluntary organisations, rather than an official call to "go shopping".
When asked about his stance on abortion, the Republican candidate declared he opposed abortion "from the moment of conception".
"I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies. That's my commitment to you," he said to applause.
Mr McCain also said he supported preserving "the unique status of marriage between a man and a woman" and that he was against the decision taken in some states to allow same-sex marriages.
"That doesn't mean people can't enter into legal agreements. That doesn't mean that they don't have the right of all citizens," he said.
Conservative Christians form about one-quarter of the US electorate. They largely support the Republican Party, but have not shown great enthusiasm for Mr McCain.
He identifies himself as Baptist and has made a strong appeal to social conservatives and evangelical Christians during his campaign.
But he rarely discusses his faith. Earlier this year he said: "I'm unashamed and unembarrassed about my deep faith in God. But I do not obviously try to impose my views on others."
The Illinois senator, a Christian, has made a point of discussing his religion on the campaign trail and has been courting religious voters with a presence on Christian radio and blogs, and other events.
OBAMA vs. McCAIN 0 comments
I've been remiss in checking out the RCP poll averages, so here's today's chart. Basically, it shows Obama ahead of McCain by 5 points, the same as usual, but that seemed kind of boring to me. So, since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd embellish the picture a bit. Enjoy!
Purpose Driven Candidates: Obama, McCain Seek Rick Warren's Blessing 0 comments
The presidential campaign has been repeatedly buffeted by religion, and faith will take the spotlight again this weekend as rivals Barack Obama and John McCain make a pilgrimmage to the influential Saddleback Church to woo its best-selling pastor, Rick Warren.
The two candidates will make a joint appearance at the southern California mega-church to be grilled by Warren, the author of "The Purpose Driven Life."
Sen. Obama, D-Ill., will go first, while Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., waits in another room. Each will be questioned for one hour by Warren and asked the exact same questions.
"We're going to look at leadership, specifically their character, their competence, their experience," Warren told ABC News in a interview for "Good Morning America."
"I want to give America a better, closer look at the two candidates. I think we want to see not just their values, but their vision, their virtues," he said.
CBS Poll: Obama Leads McCain 0 comments
(CBS) Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama holds a six point lead over his Republican counterpart John McCain, a new CBS News poll finds. Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 42 percent among registered voters, with 6 percent of respondents undecided.
The poll contains troubling signs for Obama as he looks to mobilize the Democratic Party behind him following his long and sometimes bitter battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, however.
Twelve percent of Democrats say they will support McCain in the general election. That's higher than the 8 percent of Democrats who defected to President Bush in 2004. Nearly a quarter of Clinton supporters say they will back McCain instead of Obama in the general election.
McCain leads Obama by 8 points among registered independent voters, considered a key voting block in November. The Arizona senator leads Obama 46 percent to 38 percent, with 11 percent of respondents undecided.
Sixty-three percent of all voters - including more than half of Democratic primary voters - say the length of the Democratic primary battle has hurt the Democratic nominee's chances. Just 27 percent say it has helped the nominee's cause.
Roughly two-thirds of Democratic primary voters think there is a better way: to have a single national primary day instead of the current, staggered timeline.
A majority of Democratic primary voters - 59 percent - say Obama should choose Clinton as his running mate. Clinton supporters are more enthusiastic about the prospect than Obama supporters, who are evenly split on the question of Clinton as a vice presidential pick.
Overall, Obama leads Clinton among Democratic primary voters, though the margin is smaller than last month. Obama leads Clinton 45 percent to 41 percent among the group, down from a 12 point spread last month.
Many voters say former President Bill Clinton’s involvement in his wife's campaign hurt the former First Lady. Thirty-nine percent of all voters surveyed say the former president damaged his wife's campaign, while 23 percent say he helped her.
Views Of The Candidates:
McCain is seen as "very likely" to be an effective Commander-in-Chief by more registered voters than either Obama or Clinton. Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed said McCain is "very likely" to be effective, versus 25 percent for Obama and 22 percent for Clinton. However, a majority says it is at least "somewhat likely" any of the three candidates would be effective.
Obama is seen as caring a lot about voters' problems by 38 percent of registered voters, versus just 22 percent for McCain. Both candidates are seen as sharing values by a roughly even percentage of respondents, 63 percent for McCain and 62 percent for Obama.
Obama has a 41 percent favorable rating - down three percentage points from last month - and a 31 percent unfavorable rating. McCain has a 34 percent favorable rating - up two points from last month - and a 37 percent unfavorable rating.
Obama and other Democrats have repeatedly stressed that McCain’s policies would essentially mean a third term for Mr. Bush. More than four in ten voters believe McCain would, indeed, generally continue Mr. Bush’s policies.
And while about half think McCain would be different from the current President, nearly as many say he will be MORE conservative (21 percent) as think he will be LESS conservative (28 percent).
Sixty-two percent of those asked say McCain's age - he will be 72 on inauguration day - will not impact his effectiveness as president. Thirty percent say it will be an obstacle, while 7 percent see it as an asset.
President Bush:
President Bush's approval rating is at its lowest level to date. Just 25 percent of Americans approve of the overall job Mr. Bush is doing as President, an all-time low for him and among the lowest approval ratings ever recorded for a President.
Sixty-seven percent disapprove of the job Bush is doing - the highest such figure in CBS News polls since he assumed office.
Only Presidents Nixon (24 percent) and Truman (22 percent) have seen polls showing job approval ratings lower than 25 percent during their presidencies, according to Gallup Polls. President Carter’s all-time low was 26 percent.
The Economy And Gas Prices:
Thirty-four percent of Americans cite the economy as their top concern, more than any other issue. That's followed by gas prices, cited as the top concern by 16 percent of those surveyed, the war in Iraq, cited by 15 percent, and health care, cited by 4 percent.
Sixty-five percent say that the recent increase in gas prices has caused them financial hardship - and 36 percent say that hardship is serious. Nearly nine in 10 Americans expect gas prices to go up even further over the summer.
Nearly one in five Americans say their income is not enough to pay their bills. Nearly half of Americans say they are making just enough to pay their bills.
Americans have become slightly more optimistic about the economy than they were in May, though they still remain overwhelmingly pessimistic. Twenty percent of those surveyed say the economy is in good shape, up from 16 percent a month ago. Seventy-eight percent say the economy is in bad shape.
Almost 70 percent of those surveyed believe the economy is getting worse; only 3 percent say it is improving.
Eighty-three percent think the country is on the wrong track - the highest percentage in the twenty-five years since CBS News began asking the question. Just 14 percent say things are on the right track.
The War In Iraq:
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the prospects for a stable Iraq.
Sixty-one percent say Iraq will never become a stable democracy - the highest number since CBS News starting asking the question in December 2003. Just one third think Iraq will become a stable democracy, and most of them think that will take longer than two years.
Thirty-five percent of those surveyed say things are going well in Iraq, down from 40 percent in April. Sixty-two percent say things are going badly.
Americans would like U.S. troops to come home from Iraq sooner rather than later. 42 percent are willing to have U.S troops remain in Iraq for only a year or less. 21 percent say troops should stay for one to two years more, while 30 percent are willing to keep troops in Iraq longer than two years.
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,038 adults nationwide, including 930 registered voters, interviewed by telephone May 30-June 3, 2008. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. The error for the sample of registered voters is plus or minus four points.
What happens in U.S. presidential races can, theoretically, have an impact on the world. Example: because of the speculative nature of energy prices, there were some who believed Hillary Clinton's remarks about how the United States could "obliterate" Iran had a chance of affecting the cost of gasoline. To my knowledge, that didn't happen. But an adviser to Barack Obama adviser has raised questions in recent days about whether John McCain's early "belligerent" statements about Georgia and Russia exacerbated the conflict.
McCain, asked about this at a Wednesday news conference, sidestepped the question by saying now is not the time for partisanship. Into the breach stepped National Review, answering that because a different Obama adviser had said Obama and McCain were basically on the same page after the early reaction, it must be the case that Obama was making the situation worse too, right?
Nonetheless, a third Obama adviser raised the possibility that soothing statements might have had more of an impact. Per The Washington Post: "Obama's more nuanced tone may reflect the debate going on among his advisers, who say they must bear in mind the messy geopolitical reality that America relies on Russia on a host of issues, from Iran to nuclear proliferation to energy and climate change. 'Part of the reason we don't have leverage is that we don't have a U.S.-Russian relationship. It has been adrift,' Michael McFaul said. Referring to McCain, he added, 'It's easy to say something belligerent about Russia. I'm no friend of Vladimir Putin, and cheap shots about tough talk are all well and fine. But what are you doing to actually make the situation better?'"
A whole different question, more speculative even than the question I'm asking here and that I'll leave to Porch Dog: Might conversations between McCain and members of his camp -- one of whom had very close ties to Georgia and top Bush administration neoconservatives -- and the president of Georgia actually contributed to the escalation?
In the end, said one expert, tough talk from neither Obama nor McCain matters. "This type of bluster is fairly counterproductive because it is a bluff, there's nothing we can do about this," Clifford Gaddy of the Brookings Institution told the Washington Post.
My own observation: It's hard to imagine that Vladimir Putin cares much what was said by McCain, a possible future president, because so far, he's not given many indications that he cares what anyone thinks. And while McCain has been at the forefront of harsh rhetoric against Russia since the conflict began, pretty much the entire Western world has condemned what Russia's been doing, so what difference can one presidential candidate make by condemning it more?
McCain and Obama 'moving on' 0 comments
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A day after a testy exchange of letters that raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. John McCain said Tuesday that he and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama were "moving on" after having a "nice discussion."
Further, the two senators are scheduled to appear together on Wednesday afternoon at a Senate hearing on proposed changes to lobbying rules -- the issue that became a bone of contention between them.
"Everything's fine," said McCain, of Arizona, who declined to provide additional details of his conversation with Obama when pressed by reporters. "We're moving on, we're moving on, we're moving on."
On Monday, McCain unleashed an unusually biting and blunt broadside against Obama, accusing the freshman senator from Illinois of backtracking on a previous commitment to work with McCain in developing a bipartisan proposal for lobbying and ethics reform.
In a letter to Obama on Monday, McCain -- upset by his colleague's support for a reform bill put forward by Democratic leaders as well as a suggestion that McCain's approach might delay the process -- accused Obama of "self-interested partisan posturing" and "disingenuousness."
McCain also told the Illinois Democrat that "I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's efforts to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness."
"I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics, the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us," McCain wrote. "Good luck to you, senator."
In response, Obama sent a letter back to McCain, saying he was "puzzled" by McCain's reaction and insisting he still supported a bipartisan approach to ethics reform.
"The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you, nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem," Obama wrote.
Earlier Tuesday, as the controversy brewed, McCain paused in front of the cameras to defend the letter, saying his comments were "a little straight talk about people saying one thing and doing another."
"I don't think that the tone was either venomous or sarcastic," he told reporters, prior to his conversation with Obama. "I'm not angry in the slightest."
McCain also said he understands that "people don't like straight talk."
"That's why I am not going to win Miss Congeniality again this year in the Senate."
What set off McCain was a letter Obama sent him late last week, after he and several other Democrats attended a meeting hosted by McCain to discuss a bipartisan approach to lobbying and ethics reform.
In that letter, Obama expressed support for a reform bill being pushed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, rather than McCain's proposal for a bipartisan task force to look at legislation.
"I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction (in the Senate) to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support," Obama wrote.
In the letter he sent Monday, McCain accused the Democratic leadership of wanting "to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections." And he denied that his task force was designed to short-circuit the Senate committee process.
"The timely findings of a bipartisan working group could be very helpful to the committee in formulating legislation," McCain said. "I have consistently maintained that any lobbying reform proposal be bipartisan."
"As I explained in a recent letter to Senator Reid, and have publicly said many times, the American people do not see this as just a Republican problem or just a Democratic problem."
But in his rebuttal, Obama said he made it clear during last week's meeting that the Democratic caucus would insist that any reform plan go through the normal committee process -- and that he believes Reid's bill "should be the basis for a bipartisan solution."
McCain and Obama are scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Rules Committee. The hearing starts at 2 p.m.
CNN Correspondent Ed Henry and Producer Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
McCain Displays Credentials as Obama Relaxes 0 comments
HONOLULU — For the last several days, Senator Barack Obama has seemed to fade from the scene while on his secluded vacation here, as his opponent, Senator John McCain, has seized nearly every opportunity to display his foreign policy credentials on the dominant issue of the week: the conflict between Russia and Georgia.
Only once, at the beginning of the week, did Mr. Obama discuss the fighting in public, when he emerged from his beachfront rental home to condemn Russia’s escalation, in a way that seemed timed for the evening television news. He took no questions whose answers might demonstrate command of the issue.
Mr. McCain and his surrogates, however, have discussed the situation nearly every day on the campaign trail, often taking a hard line against Russia to the point of his declaring the other day, “We are all Georgians.”
It is as if the candidates’ images have been reversed within a matter of a few weeks. When Mr. Obama was overseas last month, Mr. McCain’s foreign policy bona fides seemed diminished, if only because he could not attract the news media attention received by Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Now, Mr. Obama’s voice seems muted at a time when much of the world has been worriedly watching the conflict.
A spokesman said that Mr. Obama had interrupted his vacation several times to get updates on the situation in the Caucasus and that he had been in “constant contact” with his national security advisers. He has spoken to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, as well as former Senator Sam Nunn, Democrat of Georgia; Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana; and former Defense Secretary William J. Perry.
For his part, Mr. McCain has fielded questions daily, batting back criticism that his tough stance is reminiscent of the language of the cold war. On the other hand, the fluency with which Mr. McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, discusses Georgia, citing the history of the region and the number of times he has visited, lends an aura of commander in chief. And as if he already had a cabinet, Mr. McCain said he was dispatching his allies Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, to the region.
To conservatives, particularly the neoconservative set, Mr. McCain’s forceful responses have been welcomed. Conservatives have pointed out that Mr. Obama looks a bit out of touch this time. “I didn’t think that Obama had to do much during his week’s vacation — everyone deserves a break,” wrote Jim Geraghty of National Review Online. “But this week is starting to really turn into a week where you don’t want to be seen golfing.”
Mr. McCain, pressed by reporters, has resisted opportunities to criticize how Mr. Obama has addressed the situation in Georgia.
Mr. Obama’s week has been low-key, a sharp contrast to his high-voltage campaign events. On Thursday, he toured a nature preserve and went body surfing. Beyond that, Mr. Obama has played golf, taken walks on the beach with his daughters, eaten dinner at a few Honolulu restaurants with his wife and friends, and visited almost daily with his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, whom Mr. Obama calls “tutu,” a Hawaiian term.
He has held only two campaign events, a fund-raiser and a welcoming rally that was quickly added to his schedule. “It would have been devastating to everyone here if he had not done that,” said Kallie Keith-Agaran, an Obama supporter who lives in Maui.
Minimizing public appearances may have provided less fodder for those detractors who have portrayed his vacation spot as elitist or exotic. Last weekend, Cokie Roberts, an ABC News analyst, said, “I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii, and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place.” Ms. Roberts added, “He should be in Myrtle Beach if he’s going to take a vacation at this time.”
A few months ago, some campaign aides had reportedly discussed a splashier homecoming, including a major speech at the Punchbowl National Cemetery, where Mr. Obama’s maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham, a World War II veteran, is buried. Instead, Mr. Obama stopped at the grave briefly on Wednesday, carrying a lei.
Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman, defended the trip, saying, “I don’t think anyone can credibly criticize Senator Obama for going back to the place where he was born to visit his grandmother where she happens to live.”
Still, some Hawaii residents and political observers acknowledged that exotic impressions of the islands have become mythology among Americans, making it one of the most unlikely places for a presidential candidate to call home.
Perhaps that is why Mr. Obama has played down his Hawaiian roots, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Obama’s biographical narrative has focused on his mother from Kansas and father from Kenya, and less on his time in Oahu.
“When you’re being accused of being an elitist,” Ms. Jamieson said, “and when people are using code words such as ‘exotic’ in order to describe you and your background, you would not want to locate your biography in Hawaii, if you had a choice.”
from new york edition
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