Records sought at McCain advisor's bank

by Aamer Madhani

In the aftermath of retired Gen. Wesley Clark's questioning of Sen. John McCain's military credentials, the presumptive Republican nominee's campaign is charging that the Arizona senator is the target of a smear campaign by the left.

In a conference call earlier today, Brian Rogers, a McCain campaign spokesman, took offense with a series of barbs that Democrats have thrown in which they poked at the running narrative of McCain as a war hero.

In May, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) charged that McCain, the son and grandson of Navy admirals, may have a narrow worldview because of his deep personal and familial military background. In April, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) argued that as a fighter pilot who dropped bombs on Vietnam McCain was insensitive to cold realities of war. Earlier that month, the liberal talk show host Ed Schultz called McCain a "warmonger."

"Many elements on the left are circulating in this stuff and it's risen to the level of acceptability," Rogers said.

Clark, the former NATO commander and Obama supporter, said on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that McCain's "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" hardly qualified him to be the next commander-in-chief. McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

The Obama campaign earlier today said that Obama "rejected" Clark's statement.

by Andrew Zajac

Hillary Clinton biographer Gail Sheehy weighs in with a fascinating post-mortem on the New York senator's just-concluded presidential campaign in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair.

According to Sheehy, fierce infighting among the Clinton inner circle "team of rivals" -- Harold Ickes, Mark Penn, Patty Solis Doyle, Mandy Grunwald and Howard Wolfson, left the campaign unable to recover from blunders, like woefully underestimating Barack Obama and dithering about competing aggressively in the Iowa caucuses.

Nor could the campaign reign in Bill Clinton, whom Sheehy portrays as an imperial figure carrying on as though the presidency for his wife was a family birthright.

In the end, the combination of Obama's unexpectedly impressive performance and the new Democratic establishment's wariness and weariness of the Clintons helped prevent the expected rescue of the campaign by the party's superdelegates.

Read Sheehy's entire take on the campaign here.

Barack Obama stands onstage as he is introduced to speak at the Truman Memorial Building in Independence, Mo., Monday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

by James Oliphant

It's been an interesting week for Obama-watchers.

if they have been paying close attention, they can watch with their own eyes the Democratic candidate making a play for the center of the American electorate, the Reagan Democrats, the Hillary supporters, the Security Moms, NASCAR Dads, etc.

Apparently, the Obama camp believes it has its base locked down and now is trying to convince moderates that the Illinois senator is one of them. Obama's patriotism roll-out this week is, of course, a prime example.

But in past seven days alone, Obama has

* Announced he would forego public financing of his campaign after earlier saying he would accept it. The move was viewed by many critics as a cynical, "win now" move from a man who had vowed to clean up the system

By Stephen J. Hedges

New federal grain production estimates released Monday are certain to stir more debate over the use of corn and soybeans for food or fuel.

Despite wash-out flooding in the Midwest, corn will remain king among crops in 2008, according to harvest forecasts released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Monday. Fueled by high prices and increased demand due to ethanol production, U.S. farmers planted more than 87.3 million acres of corn this spring, down from a record 93.6 million in 2007, the USDA found.

That 2008 figure is higher than USDA predicted as recently as March. Corn prices declined slightly with Monday's higher production estimate.

Flooding will cut the number of acres actually harvested down to about 79 million, USDA said. But the department states that it will conduct follow-up interviews with 9,000 farmers in grain states affected by flooding -- Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri - before it completes a harvest report due out Aug. 12.

Even after the flooding, USDA stated, the amount of corn acres planted is the second largest since 1946.

The soybean harvest is also expected to be large. Farmers have planted 74.5 million acres of soybeans, the third largest amount on record, "and up 17 percent from last year," according to USDA.

Both corn and soybean prices have been running high due to increased demand from the biofuels industry and increased exports prompted by a weak dollar.

Futures contracts for corn have traded from $7- to-$8-a-bushel in recent days, compared to prices of about $2.25-a-bushel just a few years ago. Soybeans prices have
also jumped to more than $15-a-bushel, compared to about $8-a-bushel just a year ago.

Cattle ranchers and dairy farmers, among others, complain that the corn-based feed they use has become too costy, driving up food costs. Many of them blame those higher prices on ethanol production, which distills fuel from corn. Congress and the Bush administration have enthusiastically backed ethanol, and biodiesel made from soybeans, as altenatives to gasoline.

by Amanda Erickson

Sen. Jim Webb has a new nickname: Mr. Vice President.

It's what Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) was overheard calling the Virginia democrat as he stood up to deliver a speech on the war spending bill on the floor of congress Thursday night, according Roll Call's gossip column.

Webb, with his swing-state location and military roots, is thought to be one of the top contenders for the position. He has also been an out-spoken critic of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq.

But McCaskill's name has also come up, leading Roll Call to wonder if the teasing was an inside joke "among Senators who've been fielding will-you-or-won't-you questions about their aspirations to be Obama's number two."

The vice presidential search has become a point of obsessive analysis for those inside or nearby the Beltway. A google search for 'vice presidential pick, 2008' turns up about 2.5 million hits, including a link to a poll that shows likely voters support Colin Powell for the number two slot on both tickets and a website that lets buyers choose their favorite executive branch combination for a T-shirt and buttons.

My favorite though, is a piece that compares the VP pick storyline to sex: "When it's happening, you're totally focused on it, it's all you want. Then, the second it's over, you can barely remember why it seemed so important."

by Mike Dorning

Barack Obama today spoke with former President Bill Clinton, who has been described by associates in media reports as still smarting over his wife's primary loss. The Obama campaign described the converation as "terrific."

Clinton was not a part of the joint appearance Obama and Hillary Clinton had in Unity, N.H., on Friday. However campaign aids said the event was designed to concentrate attention on the two former rivals. The Obama campaign noted in a statement today that the former president is backing Obama's presidential campaign.

"Senator Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign. He has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation's great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

by Rick Pearson

The Democratic Leadership Council's hierarchy on Monday sought to reconcile divided presidential preferences with its core centrist-themed mission as it embraced Sen. Barack Obama as a candidate to further the group's moderate agenda in the White House.

"I say to my friends who supported someone else, put it aside," Harold Ford, a former Tennessee congressman who heads the group, said on the final day of its annual convention at a Chicago hotel. "Our reforms, the things that we stand for are all embodied in our nominee."

Obama did not appear before the gathering of an organization formed after Walter Mondale's 49-state defeat in 1984. The DLC saw its influence grow significantly under President Bill Clinton, a former chairman. Obama's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, is among the group's leadership and Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat-turned-independent who is backing Republican Sen. John McCain for the presidency, is a former DLC chairman.

The group's previous support for welfare reform and fiscal responsibility and its push for such issues as expanded trade and charter schools have alienated more liberal elements within the Democratic Party which readily endorsed Obama's candidacy.

But as Obama has found himself under increasing criticism from the left in recent days for shifting positions on issues ranging from granting telephone companies immunity under the Foreign Service Intelligence Act to a refusal to express his belief on the recent Supreme Court decision that overturned the Washington, D.C., handgun ban, the founder and CEO of the DLC, Al From, said he found comfort in the Illinois Democrat's efforts to become "more practical" as a general election candidate.

by James Oliphant

Public relations professionals in the nation's capital are busy people.

So it isn't surprising that we occasionally receive an email such as the one below:

Good morning (First Name),

I wanted to make sure you received the below invitation for the luncheon tomorrow. Panelists will be covering the Supreme Court year in review including the DC gun ban, Louisiana child rape case and Guantanamo Bay case. Please let me know if you would be interested in attending or if you have any questions.

Best,

It's not that we don't know who you are. It's just that we don't really care who you are.

Seriously. This happens more than you would think. Who hasn't hit that send button a moment too early?

In fact, at the Swamp, it happens all the

(A perspective piece in the Chicago Tribune)

By Charles M. Madigan

We now have a new thing in presidential campaigning, the anticipatory smear defuser. It's a simple thought: Before your enemies get any traction, embrace the slander, spread it around on your own terms and debunk it.

Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic candidate, has launched a Web site called "Fight the Smears" to head off slanders at the pass.

That Obama is the first to do this makes sense, and not only because he has been subjected to some real whoppers. (Obama's a Muslim! Obama's related to Saddam Hussein!) He also has proved to be the most technologically inventive candidate, having already recast the business of campaign funding by fully exploiting the Internet.

Now Obama can deal direct, crafting and delivering his own message, to checkmate his opponents. A key component of campaign slander is that it needs a little quiet time to germinate before cracking into the public. Obama is using technology to attack during the germination phase, which is brilliant.

What is not new, of course, is the idea of slander itself.

Read the rest of the piece in the Chicago Tribune.

by Katie Fretland

No lawmakers were present at President Bush's signing of a $162 billion war-spending bill today, but White House Press Secretary Dana Perino notes: "They're all out of town." Congress is out for a July 4 break.

The bill, however, will double GI bill college benefits for troops and veterans and provide funding for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of Bush's presidency and even further, depending on what the next president decides about the war.

The bill adds more than $650 billion to the Iraq war and $200 billion for the war in Afghanistan. Democrats had tried to force troop withdrawals, but failed.

"I appreciate that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq," Bush said.

The new GI bill offers troops and veterans free tuition to the equivalent of the most expensive school in their state and a housing stipend. Those who have served three years in the military are eligible.

by Aamer Madhani and Katie Fretland

The campaign of Sen. Barack Obama today rejected a statement by retired Gen. Wesley Clark who questioned whether John McCain's "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" qualified him to be the next commander-in-chief.

With his biting statement, Clark, a former four-star general and often mentioned potential running mate for Obama, might have hurt his chances of becoming the No. 2 on the Democratic ticket.

In a speech today in Missouri, Obama seemed to try distance himself from Clark's remarks, although he didn't mention the former NATO general by name.

"For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary," Obama said. "And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides."

Ouch.

Separately, the Obama campaign issued a statement distancing the senator from Clark's statement.

"As he's said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General Clark," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Today, McCain's campaign manager struck back at Clark and Obama for the former NATO commander's shot at McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent more than five years as prisoner of war in Vietnam.

"Sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Monday on CNN's American Morning.

by John McCormick

Sen. Barack Obama provided his definition of patriotism today, while also seeking to inoculate himself from Republican attacks regarding his lack of military service, complex biography and past incidents that have generated questions about his national devotion.

"It's worth considering the meaning of patriotism because the question of who is - or is not - a patriot all too often poisons our political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us together," Obama said in a speech at the Truman Memorial Building in Independence, Mo.

"Throughout my life, I have always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given. It was how I was raised; it is what propelled me into public service; it is why I am running for President," he said. "Yet, at certain times over the last 16 months, I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged - at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears and doubts about who I am and what I stand for."

It was a topic explored in a story in Monday's Tribune, setting up a week where Obama is expected to continue on a theme of patriotism in advance of Friday's 4th of July holiday.

As part of his speech, Obama pledged to "never question the patriotism of others in this campaign" and that he will "not stand idly by when I hear others question mine."

The Illinois Democrat then offered several of his life experiences that he said defined feelings of patriotism for him.

by Frank James

It's been said before but bears repeating: If white working-class voters rebuff the entreaties of Sen. Barack Obama for many of them, perhaps even most, it may have less to do with race than other matters, like the senator's relative newness on the national political scene or his lack of deep national-security experience at a time when the world seems a pretty dangerous place.

So any ultimate analysis that says race was strictly the reason such voters didn't vote for him will be inaccurate to the degree that such an analysis fails to mention other factors.

That's a point well worth remembering and it's made by Peter Brown in his Wall Street Journal Political Perceptions column.

Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac University's Polling Institute, reminds us that Democrats haven't won a majority of the non-college educated voter since 1964. Race has certainly been a factor for some of those voters in the decades since LBJ's landslide win over Barry Goldwater. When Republicans like Richard Nixon talked of law and order and Ronald Reagan spoke of Cadillac-driving welfare queens, they used language meant to push racial buttons.

But there have been other issues too, cultural ones, that have often kept working white-voters from voting for Democratic presidential candidates:

For those voters, especially ones without college degrees, the fact that Sen. Obama is black may not be as much a disqualifier as his background as a Democrat from the Frost Belt with no national security or executive experience and a voting record judged by the nonpartisan National Journal as the Senate's most liberal during 2007.

by Andrew Zajac

Part of the process of reconciliation between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton requires the Illinois senator to schmooze and stroke Clinton's big donors.

Obama began the process last week with a meeting of Clinton's national finance committee.

One of the challenges this poses for Obama, whose campaign champions change in Washington, is how he will deal with some of the decidedly old school aspects of Clinton's fundraising wherein the candidate did not worry unduly about exactly where the money came from or what scrapes the donors may have been involved in.

Donors like Sant Chatwal, who has waged lengthy battles with tax collectors, bankruptcy court and government regulators, while maintaining his status as a key campaign bundler and door-opener among Indian-Americans for first Bill Clinton and later Hillary Clinton.

Chatwal also helped arrange one of Bill Clinton's bigger post-presidential paydays, serving as the go-between for Clinton and a London charity which wound up paying him $450,000 for an appearance at a 2006 fundraiser. That was nearly one third of the fundraiser's revenue and $170,000 more than Clinton charged for ordinary overseas for-profit appearances.

Now Chatwal is warming up to Obama.

by James Oliphant

There is politics. And then are the things that people really take seriously.

Take for instance, the blood-feud that is Cubs-White Sox in the Windy City. Witness this video, which comes off sort of like the McLaughlin Group if they actually, you know, came to blows instead of just talking over each other.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the Texas Republican Party, June 13, 2008. (David J. Phillip/AP)

by James Oliphant

Veteran politics reporter Mike Allen reports in Politico today that the McCain camp is locking in one McCain's former rival, Mitt Romney, for the number two slot on the ticket.

Allen writes that Romney's great advantage is his ability to raise large amounts of money--and it helps that he has already been fully vetted by the media. (No "September Surprise").

Campaign insiders say McCain plans to name his running mate very shortly after Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) does, as part of what one campaign planner called a "bounce-mitigation strategy."

The Democratic convention is in late August, a week ahead of the Republicans convention. That means McCain can size up the opposing ticket before locking in his own.

One of the chief reasons the Massachusetts governor is looking so attractive is his ability to raise huge amounts of money quickly through his former business partners and from fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons.

McCain sources tell Politico that they believe Romney could raise $50 million in 60 days. One close Romney adviser said it could even be $60 million.

There is a problem, though. Romney whacked McCain pretty thoroughly in the primaries and McCain, well, just doesn't like the guy.

That's why other names such as former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and North Dakota Sen. John Thune are also being strongly considered.

To read more, see this item in Top of the Ticket.

by Frank James

Congress may be in extremely low repute right now, but it appears House Democrats run little risk of losing their majority status in November.

Gallup's pollsters report that while voters may be sick of Congress and telling anyone willing to listen that they want "change," they appear not to be about to take it out on Democrats in 2008 the way they turned against Republicans in 2006.

This is how Gallup reported the results of its Gallup/USA Today poll:

PRINCETON, NJ -- The Democratic Party is in a good position to retain its majority status in Congress this November. Democrats lead the Republicans by 51% to 40% in the party preferences for Congress among all registered voters, and by 52% to 42% among likely voters.

The Democrats' 11-point advantage among registered voters is slightly less than what Gallup found in mid-February -- at that time, the Democrats led by 55% to 40% -- however, it still puts them in a comfortable position heading into the fall.

by James Oliphant

The just-ended Supreme Court term promises to provide some grist for a long, hot summer of campaigining for John McCain and Barack Obama. Rulings on guns, Guantanamo detaineees, the death penalty, and other incindiary issues have again placed the justices on center stage.

Here are a couple of op-eds Monday that throw down the gauntlet.

In the National Review, Jonathan H. Adler asks: "What Happened to the Conservative Court?"

But that isn't a lament, it's an appreciation of how, in the writer's estimation, the court has not launched a dramatic conservative revolution, but resolved cases in narrow grounds when possible:

Overall, the Supreme Court continued to embody a mildly conservative "minimalist" approach to deciding cases over the course of this past term. Most of the Court's decisions in 2007-08 carefully considered the discrete legal questions at issue and were decided on narrow grounds. Save for the expansive Kennedy opinions noted above, there were no sweeping changes or legal revolutions, and few decisions that were major surprises. Even the Court's gun-rights holding was quite restrained.

You can read the full column here.

On the opposite side is Sen. Joseph Biden writing an op-ed in this week's edition of Legal Times. Titled "Wrong Way McCain," Biden suggests that a John McCain presidency would accelerate the court's conservative drift.

A return to the cramped originalism advocated by Sen. McCain would be a tremendous step backward. The Founders did not intend to consign us forever to the thinking of the past, but instead recognized that, as Thomas Jefferson said, "Our laws and our institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind." Their genius is reflected in a Constitution that does not bind the country forever to the specific laws of 1789, but rather sets forth general principles for maintaining our system of government and our most fundamental values even as the nation evolves.

Biden's op-ed can be found here .

Watch for more of this as the campaign unfolds.

by Katie Fretland

Recently unsealed court documents show that federal prosecutors considered presenting more evidence about campaign contributions to Barack Obama at the trial of Antoin "Tony Rezko," but decided against it.

Rezko, a longtime contributor to Obama's previous campaigns and top adviser and fundraiser to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was convicted earlier this month on a list of corruption charges (wire and mail fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting bribery).

Obama was not accused of any wrongdoing. The Democratic candidate for president has returned an estimated $250,000 in donations related to Rezko, who he considered a friend. Following Rezko's guilty verdict on multiple counts, Obama said he was saddened and that this was not the person he knew.

Several unsealed documents mention campaign contributions that were not brought up at trial. One document says Rezko asked employee, Elie Maloof, to contribute $10,000 to Obama and Rezko would reimburse him. Maloof understood that Rezko had already donated the maximum amount he could, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also planned to present evidence that another employee, Joseph Aramanda, made a contribution to Obama, but did not have direct evidence that the contribution was made on behalf of Rezko.

Prosecutors also planned to call witnesses to testify that Rezko "has been a long-standing supporter and fundraiser for Barack Obama, including during Obama's 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate," according to the documents.

To read more about the Rezko trial, see this article in the Chicago Tribune.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

by Katie Fretland

The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey to turn over documents relating to the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity -- the case that led to the conviction of former Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby on perjury and obstruction charges.

The House panel seeks to find out whether President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney had any role in the leak of the covert operative's identity to several journalists.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said the subpoena is warranted in light of many prior requests for the documents. In the subpoena, Conyers asks for complete transcripts of interviews with Bush and Cheney. Conyers also asks for the complete FBI interview reports with Libby, former Bush advisor Karl Rove, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, former Bush counselor Dan Bartlett and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

McClellan has said the administration leaked Plame's identity in an effort to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who criticized Bush on the Iraq war. Former deputy secretary of State Richard Armitage first leaked Plame's identity to columnist Robert Novak.

The subpoena also asks for documents relating to other cases, including an investigation into the jamming of telephones at the New Hampshire Democratic party in 2002 and the replacement of Tom Heffelfinger in the position of U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

To see a copy of the subpoena click here: Conyers.pdf

(Photo credit: Associated Press)

From Monday's Chicago Tribune

by John McCormick

To some ears, his name sounds foreign. His father was not an American citizen. Many of his relatives live overseas. And a portion of his own childhood was spent abroad.

Every presidential candidate tries to demonstrate patriotism, sometimes in ostentatious ways, from headlining July 4th parades to leading crowds in the Pledge of Allegiance. But Barack Obama's complex biography seems to heighten the burden.

While his multiracial, multicontinent background has provided a compelling narrative for his political rise, it also makes him a more complicated character and potentially more vulnerable to attack. There is also the not-so-small matter that Obama is running against John McCain, a war hero who spent more than 20 years in the Navy, roughly a quarter of that time in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.

All this helps explain why Obama is expected to ratchet up the telling of his own American story this week as Independence Day approaches, embarking on an effort that, in a sense, is an attempt to redefine the very idea of patriotism.

The message will be that love of country is not defined only by such traditional measures as serving in the military or tracing one's ancestors to the Mayflower. Patriotism, he and his supporters will say, can be reflected in living the national dream, which in Obama's case means rising as the Hawaiian-born son of a Kenyan father and Kansan mother to professional and political prominence.

by James Rainey

It's over between Roberta and me. At least for now.

What with her constant travels, her series of handlers and the 3,000-mile separation (she's in D.C., I'm in L.A.), it just wasn't working.

I concede, with only a tinge of embarrassment, that I've been captivated by that world traveler, grandmother, freeway speedster and potential First Mother of the United States, Roberta McCain.

But after months waiting in vain for a formal interview, I'm beginning to believe that her son's presidential campaign really isn't interested in getting Roberta McCain and me together for, as the man likes to call it, a little "straight talk."

"They've got me muzzled," Mrs. McCain, 96, said when I phoned the other day. She added with a chuckle: "Now don't you print that. . . . I really don't like to be interviewed."

Democracy will not collapse for want of another Roberta McCain profile. But it makes me a little sad that the presidential season apparently will feature only rare media outings for Mrs. McCain, a charming and feisty woman who enjoys life more than many people a quarter her age.

The McCain camp insists that Mrs. McCain will face the public and the press again. But her low profile of late seems at least partly designed to prevent the kind of distractions she created during the primaries.

Read the full story of Rainey's call with Robert McCain in the Los Angeles Times.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Monday, June 30.

President Bush is attending a White House Tee Ball game this afternoon.

The Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center is hosting a discussion on the Bush Administration's final six months of Middle East peace efforts.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Hyde Park Project are hosting a workshop critiquing Republican presidential candidate John McCain's policy proposals.

Congress is taking its Fourth of July break.

by James Oliphant

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius is espousing a radical notion: Why don't John McCain and Barack Obama take their contest to the heart of the Arab world?

Ignatius would like to see the two presidential candidates debate in the prosperous city-state of Dubai, sending a message to the Middle East that America is a concerned partner in solving the region's deep-seated conflicts.

Dubai is also a symbol of the new global prosperity, thriving even as the economy in the United States sputters.

Writes Ignatius in Sunday's Post:

But the idea of a Dubai debate is appealing, not least because it would link the epochal 2008 campaign with a world that cares passionately about where America is heading. The United States is unpopular abroad these days in part because of a perception that we're arrogant -- that we don't care what the world thinks. An overseas debate would help change that perception.

And there's something compelling about taking the campaign to the region that will present the toughest challenges for the next president. Americans will be voting in November partly on how they think McCain or Obama will deal with the war in Iraq, the confrontation with Iran and the threat of terrorism. Why not debate these life-or-death issues in a place that is, almost literally, in the shadow of the war zone?

You can read the entire op-ed here.

by Katie Fretland

In downtown Orlando, 24 cars were vandalized yesterday and the culprits left behind note cards with messages that supported Hillary Clinton and insulted Barack Obama and John McCain.

Our friends at the Orlando Sentinel report that three of the cars had political messages painted on them. One read "Obama smokes crack," according to photographs from the scene.

Note cards at the scene, signed by "CR," contained a variety of messages, including, "How about them Gators," "Legalize marijuana/stop building prisons," and "Ladies I'm single, some girl step up."

Orlando police Sgt. Barb Jones said police were investigating the vandalism, which occurred sometime before 4:30 p.m. yesterday at a public parking lot off of downtown Orange Ave.

Read more about the vandalism in the Orlando Sentinel.

by John Crewdson

The Swamp watches the Sunday talk shows, so you don't have to:

The issues this first week of summer: Democratic unity (meaning can Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stand to be in the same room together? And will Hillary or Bill speak at the Democratic convention?). Can Obama win over the critical Western states and the Hispanic vote he needs to defeat John McCain? Are U.S. commandos operating secretly in Iran? And, why is Ralph Nader running for president--again?

Nader famously cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000, an election in which Gore garnered a half-milllion more popular votes than George Bush but lost by five electoral votes when the Supreme Court accorded Bush the state of Florida. Nader won only 2,883,105 votes, or 2.7% of all votes cast nationwide. But post-election research showed that 60% of Florida voters who voted for Nader would have voted for Gore, had Nader not been on the ballot.

Nader never accepted responsibility for making Bush's victory possible, blaming what he sees as the corporate conservatism of the Democratic Party, and asserting his responsibility to offer voters a third choice.

Many of Nader's former adherents didn't agree. Public Citizen, the group he founded in 1971, but with which he currently has no connection, reportedly lost 20 percent of its membership after the 2000 election.

Now Nader is back, confidently predicting on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos that his name, which is currently on the ballot in only five states, will be on 45 state ballots--one more than in 2000--by election day.

by Jim Tankersley

At a basic level, the art of presidential politics is knowing just how far you can drift from your "base" supporters and still win their votes. It's an art both John McCain and Barack Obama practiced heavily last week.

Fresh from securing the Democratic nomination, Obama rankled liberals with a series of policy announcements that seem targeted at moderate swing voters, including: supporting a compromise bill on federal government phone surveillance, opposing a Supreme Court decision barring the death penalty for child rapists and carefully phrasing his reaction to a Court decision striking down the District of Columbia's handgun ban to express no judgment on whether he believes the ban was constitutional.

McCain, meanwhile, reopened a longtime feud with conservatives by slamming Obama for allegedly helping to kill a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate. McCain sponsored that bill, but charges from his rivals that it constituted "amnesty" for illegal immigrants forced the Arizona senator to back away from it during the GOP primaries.

It's easy to see which groups both men are courting. McCain is after Latinos, a voting bloc that could sway the election in states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. In the parlance of the 2004 election, Obama appears to be after rural "NASCAR dads" who favor gun rights and suburban "security moms" who worry about crime and terrorist attacks.

Tacking to the center for a general election is a time-honored tradition in presidential politics. But the strategy could carry particular risk for both these candidates.

By Stephen J. Hedges

A year ago, federal food safety experts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture were scrambling to figure out how they'd missed so many food contamination warning signs. People and pets nationwide were falling ill and even dying from salmonella contamination in spinach and peanut butter, bad seafood, contaminated pet food ingredients from China and an alarmingly high number of cases involving E coli bacteria in ground beef.

Both agencies have spent the past year promising reforms and even making some. The FDA, which regulates everything but meat, poultry and egg products, has launched a new food safety plan. After a string of meat recalls, including the largest recall ever - 143 million pounds in February -- the USDA has conducted a review of meat packing plants.

But in the past year, contamination cases have continued, and some remain unsolved.

E coli cases are down this year, though a recall by Kroger supermarkets last week after illnesses were reported in Ohio and Michigan raised new questions about the effectiveness of the USDA's reforms..

The same can be said of the FDA, and new confusion over recent salmonella poisoning caused by the consumption of some tomatoes. The FDA back-peddled on the tomato contamination theory Friday, telling reporters that there's a chance that tomatoes may not be to blame at all. The more than 800 illnesses reported due to salmonella could have been caused by something else that's still out there.

by Bay Fang

During a visit to earthquake-stricken Sichuan province in China, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited a project run by Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham's evangelical aid organization.

She made the point that it is the relationship between people that makes the difference in relations between countries, and invoked the experience of Hurricane Katrina, saying that even the US needed international assistance during times of disaster.

"I remember very well during Katrina in the United States," she said. "People think of the United States as a developed, wealthy country with its own resources. But we so much appreciated the outreach from countries around the world to help the people in need."

By James Oliphant

With his third term as chief justice coming to a close amid three explosive cases last week, John Roberts has proved to be almost everything conservatives hoped and liberals feared.

Despite pledges during his 2005 confirmation hearing to hew to judicial centrism, Roberts has shown himself to be a reliable member of the Supreme Court's right flank--rarely, if ever, disagreeing with its positions on civil rights, gun control, the death penalty, affirmative action and a host of other issues.

That may come as no surprise to those who paid close attention to Roberts' career before his elevation to the high court, but the picture is at odds with the non-ideological face he presented after his nomination.

"I come before this committee with no agenda, no platform," Roberts told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005. "I will approach every case with an open mind."

Roberts branded himself then a judicial "umpire" who called the balls and strikes as he saw them, without reference to ideology. He was confirmed by a wide margin, 78-22, with half of the Senate's democrats supporting him.

"Some people will like what Roberts has done and some people will be upset about it, but it is hard to describe it as the work of a 'neutral umpire,' " said Christopher Eisgruber, a professor at Princeton University and an expert on the court appointments process.

by Amanda Erickson

Longtime Obama supporter Richard Fizdale adopted a nickname at a rally in Chicago two weeks ago. On his nametag, the supporter wrote "Hussein," winning a big grin from presidential hopeful Barack Hussein Obama.

The Democratic senator from Illinois has been followed by rumors that he is Muslim since his campaign began more than a year ago. But now, his fans are trying to put an end to those whispers by adopting Obama's middle name as their own. Obama is a Christian.

On Facebook pages and in comments and in chatrooms, these fans have altered their name to include 'Hussein.' This online movement, the New York Times reports, has created a group of Jews, Catholics, Hispanics, Asian and Italian Americans, who live all over the country and are united by two things: their support of Obama and their newly adopted moniker.

See the full article here.

by Laurie Goering

NEW DELHI -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, already running ahead of his Republican rival John McCain in international popularity, has won a host of new fans in India since a photo published earlier this month revealed that he carries a tiny brass monkey king among his handful of good-luck charms.

In India the charm is presumed to be an image of Hanuman, Hinduism's popular monkey god. So on Tuesday, a delighted Brij Mohan Bhama, a politician associated with India's ruling party and a devotee of Hanuman, decided to boost Obama's mojo (and chances in November) by presenting the Illinois senator with a 2-foot-high gold-plated Hanuman idol, blessed by a dozen Hindu priests in a special prayer service.

The $2,500 idol, handed to a local representative of Democrats Abroad India, a private organization that encourages U.S. Democrats overseas to vote, isn't expected to make it beyond India's borders given that U.S. senators are not allowed to receive such lavish gifts.

But Carolyn Sauvage-Mar, chairwoman of Democrats Abroad India, promised to pass on news of the Bhama-Obama goodwill gesture to the Democratic candidate's campaign.

"Best wishes are free," she said. The idol, meanwhile, is back in the hands of Bhama, who's plotting a new way to get it to U.S. shores by November.

Laurie Goering writes for the Chicago Tribune. Read the story at ChicagoTribune.com

by Katie Fretland

Add Stephen Baldwin to the ranks of celebrities who have threatened to leave the country based on which candidate for president wins an election. In 2000, it was Alec Baldwin and Barbra Streisand who made that pledge if Bush won the election. (They didn't really move).

Now, Stephen Baldwin, the younger of the Baldwin brother actors, vowed (with crossed fingers) he will leave the United States if Sen. Barack Obama wins the election. (Baldwin supports McCain).

Baldwin also adds this insight into celebrity culture:

"You're going to have lot of celebrities coming out just because quote un-quote they want change, whatever, without really fully recognizing who the best person for the job is, which is kind of scary to me," Baldwin tells Fox News.

Our colleagues at Top of The Ticket have more on this story here.

(Photo by Kristie Bull/ Graylock.com/ AP Photo )

by Katie Fretland

In the June 30 issue of Newsweek, journalist Holly Bailey goes in search of the "real" Cindy McCain.

The potential First Lady offers the magazine a glimpse into her 28-year marriage to the presumptive Republican nominee for president. Many years were spent apart, with her husband on Capitol Hill while she raised their children in Arizona.

"It was almost like a deployment," Cindy told Newsweek. "What I told the kids from the time they were little is that their dad was deployed and serving our country in Washington."

McCain, 54, was far from her husband during trying times, Bailey reports, including two of three miscarriages, an addiction to painkillers and a debilitating stroke.

"Cindy says she doesn't resent the time she has spent without her husband. It was her choice to stay in Arizona while he rose in Washington, and she says she knew when she married him that he was always going to 'put country first,' Bailey writes.

Recent polling shows that McCain is the lesser known of the candidates' wives. The public tends to hear more news about Michelle Obama, wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

McCain has set out to show the public she is not a "Stepford wife," Bailey reports. The heiress is also chairman to the beer business her father started, an amateur pilot and she knows how to drive a race car. She recently traveled to Vietnam in support of a children's charity, Operation Smile.

To hear Bailey talk about the story of Cindy McCain, click here.

To read the full Newsweek article, click here.

By Euna Lhee

When Fran Visco welcomed 1,600 breast cancer researchers and their advocates to Baltimore this week, she was doing more than opening a symposium for scientists. She was celebrating one of the most successful medical lobbying efforts in the nation's history.

The researchers and physicians are funded by the Department of Defense - an unlikely source for cutting-edge programs in breast cancer.

It was 17 years ago that Visco, a Philadelphia lawyer and breast cancer survivor, began lobbying for increased spending to fight breast cancer.

Her efforts paid off two years later, when Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, expanded a tiny Defense Department mammography project to $210 million.

Now known as the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, its grants have provided a total of $4.7 billion to scientists who study not only breast cancer but also autism, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, neurofibromatosis and other diseases far removed from the battlefield.

Officials acknowledge that the beneficiaries of the research extend beyond the military to the general public. And they said no one suffers as a result.

Read the full story in the Baltimore Sun.

by Mike Dorning

Barack Obama charged that rival John McCain had "walked away" during Republican primaries from a commitment to immigration reforms that would provide citizenship to illegal aliens.

Obama made the accusation this afternoon in a speech to a group of Latino elected officials shortly after McCain went before the group to promise that immigration reform that included citizenship for illegal immigrants would be the Republican's "top priority" as president.

"Now, one place where Senator McCain used to offer change was on immigration. He was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it," Obama said. "But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment and he's said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote."

Both Obama and McCain are engaged in a struggle to win support from Hispanic voters, one reason both agreed to appear today before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, which was meeting in Washington.

An Obama spokesman said the Illinois senator was referring during his speech to a statement McCain made during the Jan. 30 Republican debate at the Reagan library in which McCain was asked whether he would vote for comprehensive immigration legislation he had sponsored.

"No, I would not, because we know what the situation is today," McCain responded at the debate. "The people want the border secured first. And so to say that that would come to the floor of the Senate -- it won't. We went through various amendments which prevented that ever -- that proposal."

by Katie Fretland

President Bush today called Zimbabwe's violence-plagued election a "sham" and promised that the United States was working to punish the country's leader, Robert Mugabe, for his regime's "blatant disregard" for human rights.

Mugabe is accused of using violence and intimidation to force the people of Zimbabwe to vote for him during Friday's runoff election. In today's Chicago Tribune, correspondent Paul Salopek reports from Africa about the people killed in political violence. The opposition released a list of the names of the dead, including 4-year-old Brighton Mambwera, burned to death, and Temba Muronde, tortured and killed with an axe.

Bush instructed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson to pursue sanctions against the government of Zimbabwe and its allies. The U.S. could introduce a U.N. resolution as early as next week seeking measures against Mugabe.

"We will press for strong action by the United Nations, including an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and travel ban on regime officials. We will continue to work closely with the African Union, Southern African Development Community, and other world leaders to resolve this crisis," Bush said.

by Aamer Madhani

As the Bush administration weighs whether to introduce a United Nations resolution calling for sanctions against Zimbabwe following yesterday's controversial election, a newly published report charges that agents of Robert Mugabe intimidated members of the opposition movement living in Britain.

The report published in today's edition of The Independent says that members of the Mugabe-controlled Central Intelligence Organization have targeted some 4,000 Zimbawaeans living in Britain and aligned with the Movement for Democratic Change with threats against family members in Zimbabwe, menacing late-night phone calls and bogus messages saying that fundraising activities are cancelled or disrupted.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, beat Mugabe in the first round of the election on March 29, but fell short of the 50 percent threshold he needed to cross to avoid a run-off. Tsvangirai announced last week he was boycotting the election because of the wide-spread intimidation and harassment of his supporters.

After the first round of voting, about 90 of his supporters had been killed in attacks by pro-Mugabe thugs, and Tsvangirai claims that tens of thousands of his supporters have been driven from their homes.

The Bush administration and Britain pushed to have the UN declare the election illegitimate, but South African President Thabo Mbeki has thwarted official condemnation. Instead, the UN Security Council issued a statement yesterday saying it was a "matter of deep regret that the elections went ahead in these circumstances."

"The elections, if they can be called that, are a complete sham,'' U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters in Washington yesterday.

by Mike Dorning

John McCain declared today that comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for the nation's estimated 12 million illegal aliens would be his "top priority" as president.

"It will be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow," McCain declared at a forum this morning before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

McCain and rival Barack Obama are engaged in a struggle for the nation's Hispanic vote, which both campaigns have identified as a constituency open to inroads from their candidate. Obama is set to address the Latino group this morning after McCain.

Obama performed weakly among Latinos during the primary season but is currently leading among Hispanic voters in the polls. McCain has had a long relationship with Latino groups as a senator representing heavily Hispanic Arizona and as a longtime champion in Congress of immigration reform.

Immigration reform and particularly citizenship for illegal aliens has been deeply unpopular with the Republican party's conservative base. During the Republican primaries, McCain generally emphasized other facets of immigration reform more popular with conservatives, such as strengthening security of the nation's borders.

In front of the Latino group, McCain stressed both his willingness to take on his own party on immigration and his support for the pathway to full citizenship for illegal aliens.

"It wasn't very popular--lets have some straight talk--with some in my party," McCain said.

"We must also understand that there are 12 million people here and they are her e illegally but they are God's children, they are God's children," McCain said, pounding the podium as he repeated the words., "and must be treated as such."

by Mike Dorning

Barack Obama announced this morning that he will make a foreign trip this summer to Europe and the Middle East which has long been expected. Though the campaign did not announce dates for the trip, aides have said privately for some time that the campaign was looking at mid-July for a foreign trip.

The campaign said Obama will be visiting Britain, France and Germany in Europe and Israel and Jordan in the Middle East.

"This trip will be an important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that are critical to American national security, and to consult with some of our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we face," Obama said in a written statement e-mailed to reporters.

The announcement does not mention Iraq and Afghanistan, which the candidate said earlier this month he will visit. But members of Congress and high government officials typically keep the dates of visits to the two combat zones secret in advance for security reasons.

The announcement does not indicate whether a visit to Iraq and Afghanistan will be included in the same trip as the broader overseas tour.

Republican rival John McCain challenged Obama to visit Irag and Afghanistan earlier this year. Obama has not visited Iraq since January 2006.

The overseas itinerary Obama announced this morning bears striking similiarities to an overseas tour McCain made earlier this year after the Republican clinched his party's nomination. The McCain tour also included stops in Britain, France, Israel and Jordan.

McCain will be visiting Mexico and Columbia in the coming week.

by Katie Fretland

Faith In America has praised the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama for her speech this week at the Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council in New York.

At the Manhattan fundraiser, Michelle Obama said, "We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall, in the pursuit of a more perfect union."

Brent Childers, executive director of Faith In America, a civil rights advocacy group, has thanked Obama for her words which drew parallels between the Selma to Montgomery marches and the Stonewall riots in New York City of the 1960s.

"When Michelle Obama makes that connection, it will eventually lead Americans to recognize religion-based prejudice and discrimination as the commonality of not only injustices against African-Americans and the gay and lesbian community but also women, interracial couples as well as religious minorities.

"The California Supreme Court in its recent ruling on marriage equality made that same connection...that deep-seated prejudice within majoritarian institutions cannot stand as a barrier to social justice."

Michelle Obama said her husband will fight for equal rights for the gay community.

"Barack believes that we must fight for the world as it should be, a world where together we work to reverse discriminatory laws," she said.

by Mark Silva

President Bush, campaigning for the White House in 2000, pledged to "rally the armies of compassion,'' enlisting faith-based organizations in government-backed aid for the needy.

And during his tenure, the federal government has pumped more than $2 billion a year into the budgets of charities associated with houses of worship, aid which the White House maintains has helped to alleviate homelessness and bring other relief on the street.

There have always been people willing to help others, the president said in his weekly radio address today, but "because many of them worked with small charities, they were overlooked by Washington as potential partners in service. And because many of them belonged to faith-based organizations, they were often barred from receiving support from the federal government.

"So I set about to change this with a new approach called "compassionate conservatism.,''' said the president. "This approach was compassionate, because it was rooted in a timeless truth: that we ought to love our neighbors as we'd like to be loved ourselves. And this approach was conservative, because it recognized the limits of government: that bureaucracies can put money in people's hands, but they cannot put hope in people's hearts.''

See what else Bush had to say about this today, here:

By Naftali Bendavid

As Democrats move into the fall campaign, many are asking where Clinton fits into the new landscape.

Not Hillary Clinton, who just held a major "unity" event with Barack Obama and backed him with apparent enthusiasm. Rather, many of the questions now surround her husband Bill. Before this year, the former president was moving comfortably into a perch as an elder statesman, even if the old whiff of controversy never quite went away. But Bill Clinton received decidely mixed reviews this year as he careened across the political stage during his wife's recent campaign, and it's not clear where its end leaves him, especially since much of the commentary suggests he is sulking.

A striking feature of the past week was the difference in the Clintons' tones as each surfaced for the first time since Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton was gracious and poised in her return to the Senate, as well as at the rally in Unity, N.H. Greeted emotionally by staffers and colleagues, she handled what must have been a tough moment with self-deprecation and humor.

by Katie Fretland

Michelle Obama will headline a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser on Monday at private residence in Chicago, our colleagues at Clout Street report.

The fundraiser hosted by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) will benefit two suburban Chicago candidates for Congress.

Susan Kuczka has the rest of the story at Clout Street, the Chicago Tribune's local politics blog.

By Paul West

Barack Obama is on his way to a blowout victory this fall, if you believe recent polling that shows him leading John McCain by 15 percentage points.

Big, summertime leads in presidential contests can vanish, though. Comparisons are already being drawn with 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, who looked like a mortal lock after he bounced, in late July, to a 17-point advantage over George H. W. Bush.

Obama could lose, too, if he can't make a convincing case to millions of undecided voters who regard him as a stranger, despite the fact that his name and face are recognized around the world.

His campaign manager seems to say as much, describing this summer as a rerun of 2007, when Obama was introducing himself to activists for the first time.

"In many ways, it feels like, let's say, last July or August in Iowa for us," says David Plouffe. "You look at these voters who are going to decide the election in these battleground states, and they know very little about him."

Obama has been aptly described as elusive. And while a candidate may want to fuzz his image--to gain the widest possible appeal and keep from alienating potential supporters--it is the news media's responsibility to sharpen the picture.

by Mark Silva

Retiring Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska says he will not endorse his party's presumptive nominee for president, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, but will be willing to serve on the Cabinet of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama should he win election as president, Bloomberg News reports.

"I don't have any plans to endorse any candidate," Hagel, says in an interview on Bloomberg Television's Political Capital With Al Hunt.

Hagel, who has called the war in Iraq a "catastrophic mistake,'' has bucked President Bush in voting with Democrats to set a timeline for troop withdrawal. McCain supports the president's war strategy. Obama supports a withdrawal.

Hagel is critical of McCain for his own criticism of Obama, with the senator from Arizona accusing the senator from Illinois of misunderstanding the war in Iraq.

While he has differences with both candidates, Hagel says in the Bloomberg interview that his differences with Obama are "probably... not as big.''

And, while Hagel has been mentioned as a potential running mate on a bipartisan ticket, Hagel says he would be duty-bound to consider any president's request for help - and that includes serving as secretary of defense for Obama.

Hagel considered his own campaign for president but instead decided not to seek reelection to the Senate.

by Mark Silva

David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager, is hardly a household name. You won't see him on the news talk shows. He is, by his own design, a backroom manager.

But with a new e-mailed video for supporters of the Democratic presidential candidate - and, of course, that means a fundraising appeal - Plouffe is walking people through the outlines of an Electoral College stragegy for Obama's victory in November.

It's no trade secret: It starts with the states which Sen. John Kerry claimed in 2004, and it adds some - including some unlikely candidates such as Montana and Alaska. And it looks, with some confidence, toward Iowa, which gave Obama his launch in the Democratic primaries. And even Georgia.

The video is filmed without lights or staging at the Chicago desk of the campaign manager to give it that, you know, laptop look. It also has some Perot-like charts, maps of the perceived path to victory. It's worth a watch -- you know John McCain's campaign is -- and a listen. It's viewable at the campaign Web-site.

Some of what the elusive Mr. Plouffe has to say is summarized here, in the Swamp:

"We're going to start with the map from 2004, very familiar to all of us. It has Bush with 286 electoral votes, and Kerry with 252,'' Plouffe says in the video appeal. "We're trying to get to 270 electoral votes. So, Kerry only fell 18 short of that in 2004. So our first goal is to hold on to John Kerry's 252 electoral votes.

by Matthew Hay Brown

With world leaders and global celebrities preparing to celebrate the 90th birthday of freedom champion Nelson Mandela, Congress has moved to remove the Nobel peace laureate from a U.S. database of terrorists.

The Senate voted late Thursday to lift longstanding travel restrictions on Mandela and his comrades in the African National Congress, which was banned in 1960 by South Africa's apartheid government and labeled a terrorist organization by the United States because it used armed force in the struggle against white minority rule.

The voice vote, reported by Reuters, follows a similar move by the House. Lawmakers hoped to strike Mandela's name from the list before his birthday on July 18.

Mandela was jailed for 27 years in the struggle against apartheid. Freed in 1990, he was the first South African president elected in a fully democratic election, and became a force for racial reconciliation in the divided nation.

The State Department and the Department of Justice have supported taking Mandela off the list; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called the designation "embarassing."

"This is a country with which we now have excellent relations, South Africa, but it's frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela," Rice told a Senate committee in April.

(Video above shows Darren Manzella in the 60 Minutes interview the Army later used as evidence the sergeant is gay.)

by Aamer Madhani

U.S. Army Sgt. Darren Manzella told his commanding officer nearly two years ago that he was gay--something he felt he had to do after receiving anonymous threatening e-mails from someone who said that people in the Army were aware of his sexual orientation.

He later provided Army investigators intimate pictures and video of him and his boyfriend--kissing, snuggling and holding each other. He said he wanted to stay in the Army, but he didn't want to hide who he was.

The Army investigated, but Manzella was told they could find no proof of his homosexuality. He would deploy to Kuwait with the rest of his unit.

Manzella, a decorated combat medic who also served in Iraq, even went on 60 Minutes in December to tell his story and speak out against the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" that prohibits out-of-the-closet troops from serving.

It wasn't until this spring that the Army concluded that Manzella, a 30-year-old from Upstate New York, was in fact gay and recommended him for discharge for violating don't ask, don't tell. Earlier this month, Manzella was officially kicked out of the service.

When his command at Fort Hood, Texas, notified him that they were recommending his discharge, Manzella said they offered him the 60 Minutes transcript as well as a copy of an Associated Press story about him as evidence that he was gay.

Never mind that he told his commanders the same story months before.

"I don't know if their hands were forced because of the 60 Minutes interview," Manzella said in telephone interview. "At that point it had gone up the chain of command."

by Katie Fretland

Just two summers ago, North Korea tested seven missiles, including one that failed but was believed to be capable of reaching the United States. In October of the same year, the country's secretive leader, Kim Jong II, said North Korea had detonated a nuclear device underground.

The demonstrations of its development of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons drew worldwide condemnation, economic pressures from China and skepticism that North Korea would fail to return to negotiations with five other nations to resolve international concerns over its weapons programs. President Bush made his concerns clear: that North Korea was one of the leading countries in the proliferation of missile technology and cooperated with Iran and Syria.

Fast forward to 2008. North Korea has taken steps to dismantle its nuclear program by removing equipment from its uranium fabrication and plutonium production sites. The country also issued a long-awaited disclosure of its nuclear program to China, prompting a reward from the United States. President Bush announced Thursday that the U.S. will remove North Korea from its terrorist sponsor blacklist and lift three sanctions against the country under the Trading with Enemies Act.

But keep in mind, experts say, that Pyongyang has a track record of going back on its agreements on nuclear weapons and the country likely has more demands in mind. The 60-page document handed over to China also fails to include how many nuclear weapons the country has. The declaration also fails to explain North Korea's activities with Syria - The United States has said the country worked with Syria on developing nuclear weapons.

A cynical interpretation of North Korea's recent moves toward disarmament would be that the country is simply stalling - taking the minimum steps necessary to avert pressure from China, said Ted Galen Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

"The more generous interpretation is that North Korea is in the midst of a fundamental change in policy that requires a much more normal relationship with the U.S., Japan and other key players," he said in an interview. "The nuclear program is a major obstacle in the creation of that kind of normal relationship."

by Mark Silva

In his show of unity with Sen. Hillary Clinton in Unity, N.H., Sen. Barack Obama made note of what the former first lady's campaign for president had done for the cause of women's rights.

"Because of the campaign that Hillary Clinton waged, my daughters and all of your daughters will forever know that there is no barrier to who they are and what they can be in the United States of America,'' Obama, father of two girls, told the crowd. "They can take for granted that women can do anything that the boys can do.... and do it better, and do it in heels.

"I still.... I still don't know how she does it in heels,'' he said, sharing a laugh with Clinton by his side.

Obama has told supporters that Republican Sen. John McCain threatens to set women's rights back - arguing, during a recent private meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington reported by The Hill, that the Arizona senator's likely appointees to the Supreme Court could roll back the gains of the last 50 years.

"I respect Sen. Obama,'' McCain said today, campaigning at an automobile assembly plant in Ohio and asked about these remarks, "and I admire his success, and I will conduct a respectful campaign.

But "that kind of a statement or allegation is not worthy of Sen. Obama or worthy of the debate that the American people want and deserve,'' McCain said at the GM plant. McCain reiterated his call for "town-hall'' style debates with Obama before the summer conventions. "If Senator Obama wants to make a statement like that while we're both on stage or before a group of Americans, then I will be glad to respond to him. I think my record speaks clearly for itself."

On stage with Clinton today, Obama was interrupted by someone in the crowd calling out, as he lavished praise on his erstwhile rival: "Hillary rocks.''

"She rocks,'' Obama replied. "She rocks. That was the point I was trying to make.''

In heels.

by James Oliphant

Wall Street Journal columnist, Republican pundit and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan is concerned about John McCain.

She is sensing a certain, well, Bob Dole vibe emanating from him. And for Republicans, that's not good.

Her prescription? Take the strait-jacket off the candidate. Let him be the McCain of old. The outrageous cut-up, who delighted in saying things that others would not dare.

Here's an excerpt from her WSJ piece today:

by Katie Fretland

The other day, Barack Obama delivered a check to former opponent Hillary Clinton for debt relief. If they both signed the check, Obama writes it out and Clinton endorses it, then how much would the check be worth to a collector, or fan? More than the $4,600 written on it to begin with?

At WorldOfAutographs.com, political memorabilia generally goes for less than an item signed by a sports figure, Hollywood star or musician. They have a photograph signed by Gerald Ford for $149.99 and another photo signed by Clarence Thomas for $29.99.

However, on eBay, the price of signed copies of My Life by Bill Clinton and Living History by Hillary Clinton starts at $750.

Over at the Top of the Ticket, our colleagues ask a rare books and autographs store how much a check signed by Obama and Clinton would be worth. Check out the answer here.

by James Oliphant

Reaction in Chicago was fast and mostly furious among city officials to Thursday's Supreme Court decision that found a constitutional right to gun ownership and struck down Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns.

While Mayor Richard M. Daley (who said "the world is laughing at us") and others grapple with how to defend the city's handgun ban from the oncoming legal onslaught, the members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board had a more radical idea.

In an editorial in Friday's editions, it called for a repeal of the Second Amendment:

by Jill Zuckman

Some people are just saying no to Unity and just saying no to coming together behind the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Two longtime Democrats in New Hampshire said yesterday that they would lead "Democrats for McCain," rather than back Sen. Barack Obama for president.

While Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are trying to rally Democrats in Unity, N.H. today, James McConaha, a former Clinton administration official, and his wife, Valery Mitchell, a Democratic activist, are working to gather support for the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

"I think in general both of us felt that this is such an important position, perhaps the most important job in the world that it requires a person who has the experience and the competence to hold it," McConaha told my friend, Kevin Landrigan with the Nashua Telegraph. "We just liked Senator McCain for a lot of reasons. In our minds, he is that person."

Read Kevin's story here

By John McCormick and Mike Dorning
updated

UNITY, N.H. - Two fierce and sometimes spiteful rivals offered a schoolyard embrace Friday, standing in the same state where one had first blocked the other from what could have been a much quicker and less painful path to the Democratic presidential nomination.

In an effort to display the equivalent of this tiny town's name, Sen. Hillary Clinton praised the man she beat in January's New Hampshire primary, triggering a prolonged primary fight that threatened to drain party unity and resources for November.

"We may have started on separate paths, but today our paths have merged. Today our hearts are set on the same destination for America," Clinton said. "Today, we are coming together for the same goal: to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States."

Obama, dressed in shirtsleeves and a baby-blue tie that matched the color of Clinton's pantsuit, sat on a stool beside Clinton as she spoke. When it was his turn to speak, he led the crowd in cheers of "Hillary, Hillary."

He offered fulsome praise for her "toughness" and "unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans."

"I've admired her as a leader. I've learned from her as a candidate," he said, pausing and picking up on a shout from the crowd. "She rocks, she rocks. That's the point I'm trying to make."

With the two candidates every gesture closely scrutinized, their body language was picture-perfect.

Obama kissed Clinton on the cheek when they met on the tarmac of Reagan National Airport in Washington for the morning flight to New Hampshire and followed her into the plane. The two worked the crowd in New Hampshire together and on-stage he patted her on the back and she nodded agreement as he spoke.

Obama also offered a nod to the gender biases many of Clinton's supporters saw in her treatment during the primary campaign while paying tribute to the barriers she broke as a major presidential candidate.

"I know that there have been times over the last 16 months when those biases have emerged. And Sen. Clinton has always brushed them off, dealt with them with her usual grace and aplomb," Obama said.

"Because of the campaign that Hillary Clinton waged, my daughters and all of your daughters will forever know there is no barrier to who they are and what they can be in the United States of America," he added.

The unified image sought to show any transgressions of the past have been forgotten, as well as help more fully move the storyline forward from Obama vs. Clinton to Obama vs. Sen. John McCain.

In was the couple's first public joint appearance since the end of the grueling 17-month primary campaign.

The two had also appeared together in private Thursday evening at a Washington hotel in front of some of Clinton's top fundraiser.

by Mark Silva

This makes the demolition of a Las Vegas hotel look like firecrackers.

As promised, North Korea demolished the visible symbol of its nuclear weapons program today, part of a commitment to disclose its program and cease enrichment of uranium that is winning a lifting of some restrictions by the United States.

President Bush is taking North Korea off the list of state sponsors of terrorism in 45 days, if Pyongyang follows through on its commitments.

But Pyongyang hasn't done much as promised -- so the White House remains wary of the regime's intentions and maintains that full verficiation will be required to ensure that North Korea is not building any more bombs.

The Yongbyong reactor -- its tower at an already idled facility taken down for a live television audience -- is where North Korea has enriched uranium. Now the government is providing the United States and other partners in the six-party talks with North Korea an accounting of how much plutonium it has made -- which leads in turn to how many bombs it has built.

All of this is "the first step'' in a nuclear-weapons free Korean peninsula, the White House hopes. But, as Bush put it this week, his administraiton harbors "no illusions" about North Korea.

They did, at least, get some great TV out of the deal.

by Mark Silva

I say Exxon-Mobil, and you say... "Profitable.''

I say John McCain, and you say... "Honorable.''

This is how it went when Barack Obama agreed to play a lightning round of word-association with the Fox Business Network's Alexis Glick, who also challenged the candidate for president to a round of basketball. She's "got game,'' she insisted. Obama agreed but wanted to see her nails -- and suggested a trim before she gets on the court.

Courtey of FOX:

Alexis Glick: Senator, I want to have a little fun with you if you don't mind because you like to have some fun. We do something on our show about word association.

Senator Obama: Go ahead.

Alexis Glick: I'm going to give you a couple of words and you just tell me what you think.

Senator Obama: I'll do my best.

Alexis Glick: NAFTA

Senator Obama: Mixed bag.

Glick: Wall Street.

Obama: Money.

Glick: Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Obama: Caution.

Glick: Iran.

Obama: Threat.

Glick: Exxon-Mobil.

Obama: Profitable.

by William Neikirk

LEWES, Del.-- At one of the outlet malls between this small town by the bay and nearby Rehobeth Beach, a salesperson laments the decline in customers this summer. Gas prices and a tough economy are to blame, she said.

"You can't keep pushing this stuff on people," she added. "They have to conserve their money."

This is one small parable in how inflation can cause recession, but it is a rather widespread view across the country. On a drive to Kentucky from Washington, D.C. and back to the beach, traffic seemed a tad lighter, and so was the line at the popular ice cream store in downtown Lewes.

Yes, it feels like a downturn, but commerce is not dead, an important thing to remember. People are still driving their SUVs to the beach, and frequenting the restaurants and bars. But there is a noticeable scaling back, especially when a fill-up the gas station can easily hit $65 or more.

One cannot get one's arms around how much of a storm is coming, and just how deep any downturn might be. The huge decline in the stock market on Thursday represented another crack in confidence and proved chastening to market experts who had represented this as a "buying opportunity" only a few weeks ago.

By Naftali Bendavid

Now that it turns out Barack Obama and Bob Dylan share a mutual admiration, the analysis can be the beginning of what all this means and how Dylan's oracular, obscure lyrics might shed light on Obama's candidacy. After all, the two men are among the most highly analyzed of their times. Dylan's songs have prompted a talmudic literature so extensive as to constitute an entire field of study, with every utterance and offhand lyric studied as though it were a scrap of the Dead Sea Scrolls. And analyzing Obama's significance has become an equal obsession in some quarters. Put the two together and you get a sort of harmonic convergence of delphic inquiry, a perfect storm of over-analysis. You can picture a group of geeks in a room somewhere--the sort of people who would otherwise be arguing about the finer points of Klingon grammar, or who used to believe that Paul was dead--cross-referencing Dylan's lyrics with Obama's speeches.

An interesting element of Obama's musical preferences, by the way, as described in the issue of Rolling Stone out today, is that they track some of the candidate's key demographic support groups. For instance, the candidate says he likes the rappers Jay-Z and Ludacris, and so do many of the young, hip and/or African-American voters who have lent so much energy to his campaign. Obama also cites among his favorites some of the well-worn staples of classic rock radio--songs by the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder--likely to resonate with the educated, upper middle-class voters that form the other key pillar of Obama's support.

Obama does not mention the Grateful Dead as one of his faves in the Rolling Stone interview. Just a guess, but maybe that's because he doesn't want to be associated with the psychedelic, acid-trip, tie-dyed culture that often surrounds the Dead. ("Vote Obama: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been.") Even in this age of voter microtargeting, it's not clear Deadheads constitute a demographic the Obama camp wants to pursue. While they are arguably concentrated in key swing states, it's kind of hard to vote if you're stoned, and even harder to make sure you pull the right lever. Or so I'm told.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, June 27.

The Commerce Department is releasing the May report for personal income.

The Institute of Medicine is holding a workshop to assess the nation's current level of medical readiness to respond to a nuclear detonation of up to 10 kilotons in such large metropolitan areas as the national capital region, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay area.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund is hosting a discussion on how the next president can best model the success of FDR's achievements during the first 100 days of his presidency.

By Mike Dorning

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may have chosen the aptly-named Unity, N.H., for the public debut of their efforts to overcome the divisions of the Democratic primaries. But first came a joint appearance Thursday evening to pitch a group of well-heeled Clinton loyalists responsible for much of the financial power behind her presidential campaign.

The former rivals offered generous praised for each other in warm, upbeat performances as they implored members of Clinton's national finance committee to rally behind the election of Obama, the presumptive nominee.

Clinton reminded the donors, most of them deeply partisan Democrats, that the party had only won the presidency in three of the past 10 elections.

"I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well," Clinton said. "But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House."

Obama offered a tribute to Clinton, telling the audience of about 200 that Clinton's quest to become the first female president had touched even members of his own family. Among them, he said, was his grandmother, who he said sometimes complained Clinton wasn't getting a fair shake even though she was rooting for her grandson.

"When I see that instinct of hers to fight on behalf of those who need a champion, she reminds me a little of me," Obama quoted his grandmother told him. He said the story illustrated "the ability of Hillary Clinton to inspire passion on behalf of those who have
been left out in the past."

The biggest applause of the evening came when Obama said that he had asked his own high-level donors to contribute to Clinton to help retire her campaign debt. Obama wrote the Clinton campaign a check for $4,600, representing the maximum legal contribution from both he and his wife, Michelle.

Still, earlier in the week, Obama said at a press conference that he would not make the same request of his many lower-dollar donors, who remain eligible to make additional contributions to Obama's campaign

The two senators are engaged in delicate maneuvering to heal ill will left over from a grueling 17-month primary campaign and strengthen the party as it heads into the fall general election while each of the former rivals pursues their own political agenda.

by Amanda Erickson

It's official: FISA isn't going anywhere until after the Fourth of July recess.

Lawmakers will not vote on the domestic spying bill until July 8. The decision to hold the measure until then came after a day of procedural maneuvering by some senators who were upset with the bill's offer of retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the federal government 's warrantless requests to eavesdrop.

When the bill comes back to the floor, Sen. Chris Dodd (D. Conn.) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) will introduce an amendment that would strike the immunity clause. Civil liberty proponents say this is important because it will give them the tools they need to dig up more information about the program. Without data, they say, they aren't able to bring cases arguing the wiretapping should be illegal.

"I hope that over the July 4th holiday, Senators will take a closer look at this deeply flawed legislation," Feingold wrote in a statement. "It is possible to defend this country from terrorists while also protecting the rights and freedoms that define our nation."

When the Senate finally votes, the bill will almost certainly pass with the immunity amendment.

Until late this afternoon, some staffers had still been (optimistically, it turns out) predicting that the measure would pass before the senators fly home for their breaks. Others thought it would be held until after the holiday. An announcement on the floor by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) around 7:15 tonight put the rumors to rest.

by Jim Tankersley

An old friend made a surprise appearance at President Bush's speech to a conference of faith-based groups this afternoon. Perhaps you remember him. He goes by "compassionate conservatism."

The phrase was a staple of the then-Texas governor's winning presidential campaign in 2000 before terrorism, war and a slumping American economy pushed it aside. Bush dusted it off today before an adoring crowd that celebrated his two-term effort to open the gates of government funding to religious groups working to combat homelessness, AIDS and other societal ailments.

In the process, he fondly recalled the early days of that first White House run, which, he noted, "seems like a long time ago."

"You've helped revolutionize the way government addresses the greatest challenges facing our society," Bush told the crowd. "I truly believe the Faith-Based Initiative is one of the most important initiatives of this administration."

The speech had a late-term, legacy-boosting feel to it, touting success in several areas - all of them stemming from the general concept that "faith" goes a lot farther than "bureaucracy." Here's an excerpt from the official White House transcript:

by Katie Fretland

In a speech directed to the candidates for president today, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said the problems the country faces -- nuclear proliferation, terrorism, health issues, environmental degradation -- will require more than "glib 10 second answers and clever 30 second television ads."

Hagel called on Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to unite the country if elected.

"One of these candidates is going to have to bring this country together, make the Congress a partner, form a broad consensus to govern, and help lead the world," Hagel said. "If they so polarize and divide our country during the campaign, they will find it difficult to govern. The complexities of an interconnected world will require leadership and decisions from the new president the day he takes office. These realities won't wait until America might come back together."

Hagel drew attention recently when the Republican senator said he would consider being Obama's running mate. Hagel, a friend of McCain's and a fellow Vietnam veteran, has not endorsed either candidate. He is a staunch Bush critic and arguably the president's most prominent GOP critic of the Iraq war.

Today, syndicated columnist Robert Novak, calls Hagel an "Obamacan," or a Republican who has defected from the party to support the Democratic senator.

"The Obamacan syndrome is based on hostility to Bush and his administration and on revulsion over today's Republican party," he writes.

by Matthew Hay Brown

And for vice president? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to tout Edwards.

"I've always tried to encourage Mr. Edwards to run for leadership or something," Pelosi told reporters this morning. "I think he's an extraordinarily talented person."

Wait a moment. Didn't former Sen. John Edwards run for leadership or something four years ago? When he sought the Democratic nomination for president, and ended up the vice presidential nominee? And again, earlier this year, when he tried again for the nomination?

"We're talking about Chet Edwards, a member of Congress from Texas, who represents Waco," Pelosi clarified.

In fact, the nine-term Democrat also represents Crawford, which makes him President Bush's congressman. Pelosi sent reporters a-Googling earlier this week when she mentioned him as a possible running mate for Barack Obama. She was asked about the choice during her weekly press conference this morning.

"He is really one of the finest people I've ever served with, and he demands the respect of his colleagues, I could say, on both sides of the aisle," she said.

by Aamer Madhani updated at 6:20 p.m.

More than a week has passed since government auditors called on the Pentagon to reopen the bidding of a $35 billion contract to overhaul the Air Force's tanker fleet, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday that he still isn't sure if he will restart the bidding process for the lucrative contract.

"I haven't made any decisions yet," said Gates, weighing in publicly for the first time since the Government Accountability Office's report was released on June 19. "But I would say that I take the GAO report very seriously. They clearly pointed out some areas where we were deficient."

Gates comment was somewhat of a departure from his stance prior to the GAO recommending that the contract be re-bid, because the Air Force made several critical mistakes in evaluating the bids from Chicago-based Boeing Co. and the winning partnership led by Northrop Grumman.

The Air Force announced in late February that it was awarding the contract to build 179 new tankers--what essentially are flying gas stations--to a consortium of Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., the parent of Boeing rival Airbus SAS.

After Boeing appealed the Air Force's decision to award the contract to Northrop, top Pentagon officials, including Gates, defended their decision and said that the process was fair and transparent.

Since the GAO recommendation was announced last week, Gates said he has met with top Pentagon brass to consider some of the GAO's concerns.

Among the errors the GAO said the Air Force made was not adequately evaluating whether the Northrop plane could fly faster and outmaneuver the service's fighter and transport fleet. There were also concerns that the Air Force made significant errors in calculating the military construction costs associated with the project.

by Jill Zuckman

File this under 'kids say the darndest things.'

Sen. John McCain, who is campaigning in Cincinnati today, met with Spencer and Piper Macke, the two young children of Fox 19 reporter Tricia Macke following a town hall meeting at Xavier University.

Piper, who is in kindergarten, asked: "Um, is the president like being a king?"

McCain laughed before responding. "Is the president like being a king? I think there have been some presidents who thought that," he said. "Uh, we won't mention any names."

He continued: "No, I don't think being a president is like being a king because in the old days kings had all power, and these days kings have very little if any power. They are there for people to respect and admire. But I think our president and our system of government is that we are equal with the congress and with the judiciary, the judges.

"So we are kind of co-equal branches of government, and so I don't think the presidency is like a king. We all have to work together. Especially the president and the legislature, because the president can't make the law. The legislature makes the law and the president signs it into law and then makes sure, should make sure, that the law is put into enforcement."

Well, Piper asked, "What does the president do all day?"

"Oh, you know I have not spent a lot of time in the White House," McCain said, "but its my understanding that the presidents, depending on what their agenda is, a lot of times they spend times in meetings. Sometimes they go on foreign travel and meet with heads of other countries. President Bush just came back from a trip to Europe where he met with the president of France and the Prime Minister of England and other world leaders.

COLORADO: Obama 49 - McCain 44
MICHIGAN: Obama 48 - McCain 42
MINNESOTA: Obama 54 - McCain 37
WISCONSIN: Obama 52 - McCain 39

by Katie Fretland

Sen. Barack Obama has a big projected lead in the battleground states of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin over Republican Sen. John McCain, according to a new poll.

The study by Quinnipiac University, Wall Street Journal and Washingtonpost.com, attributes the lead of five to 17 percentage points to Democratic women, minorities and younger voters.

"He has a lead everywhere, and if nothing changes between now and November he will make history," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a news release. However, Brown notes that his double-digit lead in some important states is not all that different than where Sen. John Kerry was positioned at this point during his campaign.

The poll also looked at the public's opinion of Sen. Hillary Clinton as Obama's running mate. Overall, it found that voters did not favor the idea and found Clinton to be a liability for the candidate.

To see the full poll results, click here.

by Jill Zuckman

In the hours before Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton come together in the small hippie town of Unity, N.H., the McCain campaign is calling into Obama's bipartisan credentials - again.

During a conference call with former Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.), he argued that Americans are less interested in unity among Democrats and more interested in efforts to work across party lines to solve challenges on energy, the environment and the war in Iraq.

"The only real demonstration of his willingness to change is his change in position," Bass said about Obama's decision not to take public financing for his campaign.

McCain, on the other hand, Bass said, has a record of confronting issues head on with lawmakers from both parties.

"Sen. McCain from the very first day he stepped foot in the US Senate, he's been an independent voice for change," Bass said.

Bass, who is a volunteer for McCain's campaign, criticized Obama for being "scripted," and for turning down McCain's call for joint town hall meetings. He said the McCain campaign would soon release a list of Democrats and Independents in New Hampshire who support McCain - and not Obama.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign released a statement earlier today about Obama's work with Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who had just held another conference call on McCain's behalf.

"Their work stands as an important reminder that even in this era of increased partisan rancor, Democrats and Republicans can work together to tackle the critical challenges that all Americans agree must be met," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

by Matthew Hay Brown

It was 20 years ago today that The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment took effect. The world body is marking the anniversary with an International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

While Americans stand in solidarity with torture victims the world over, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this morning, the observance also gives the United States a good opportunity to look in the mirror.

"What can an American say about torture?" he asked, at a Capitol Hill event featuring staff and clients of a Baltimore-based treatment center for torture survivors. "What can we say with a clean conscience? What can we say with a straight face?

"What can we say after waterboarding - 'controlled death' - has been endorsed at the highest levels? What can we see after and American Attorney General called the Geneva Conventions 'quaint?' What can we say after hypothermia at Guantanamo, after humiliation at Abu Ghraib, after secret prisons and extraordinary rendition and unlimited detention?

"After all that, how much weight can our words possibly carry? No matter how pure our intentions, no matter how noble our words, it is clear that our reputation has been sullied. And that fact is written into our history with indelible ink."

At the event to honor Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, which runs treatment centers in Baltimore and Washington, Hoyer and other lawmakers spoke of reasserting America's moral authority on human rights.

by Amanda Erickson and updated

Senate Democrats will try to push the vote on a controversial domestic spying bill off until after the July 4 recess, Senate sources are reporting.

The measure, which would offer retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the federal government 's warrant-less requests to eavesdrop, is being fiercely criticized by a handful of lawmakers, including Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

Earlier this week, presidential hopeful Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said he would support the bill, a reversal of his earlier position. "After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year's Protect America Act," Obama wrote in a statement. "It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay."

But soon after, rumors about his support began flying. Today, some in his press office said he "planned to" filibuster the bill, but others weren't as sure. Now, it looks like he won't have to, at least not until after break.

by Michael Finnegan

PITTSBURGH--Barack Obama traded ideas on energy, healthcare and schools with business, labor and academic leaders on Thursday at a campaign forum in Pittsburgh.

The group included the chief executive officers of General Motors and United States Steel Corp., along with the presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Service Employees International Union.

Also on the panel was retired Gen. James Jones, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander who is close to Obama's Republican rival John McCain but has been mentioned as a possible running mate for the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

Obama opened the forum at Carnegie Mellon University by laying out his energy, healthcare and education agenda, then asked each of 13 panelists to share their thoughts on those topics.

"If you were setting federal policy, what do you think would be the most effective approach to ensure these exciting innovations are moving rapidly?" Obama asked Vinod Khosla after the venture capitalist talked about a "radical revolution" in renewable energy technology.

Investment in university research, Khosla responded, along with stable policy and making people believe it can happen.

by Matthew Hay Brown

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court decision today to overturn the three-decade-old District of Columbia handgun ban, but said officials would move quickly to comply with the ruling.

"I have already directed the Metropolitan Police Department to implement an orderly process for allowing citizens to register handguns for lawful possession in their homes," Fenty told reporters this afternoon.

He went on to stress that the ruling would be limited in its impact on district statutes.

"This case is about a very narrow issue, and that is about the legal possession of handguns in the homes," he said. "It leaves intact various other laws that apply to private citizens who would purchase handguns or other firearms for home possession."

All firearms still must be registered with the police, Fenty said. Automatic and semi-automatic handguns generally remain illegal and no handguns can be carried outside of the home.

The mayor appeared with district Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Attorney General Peter Nickles.

"Now, let me be very clear," Nickles said. "You cannot go out today, if you have a handgun, and carry it around. This is not open season with handguns."

by Matthew Hay Brown, updated with comments from Pelosi and Shea-Porter

Congressional Republicans have wasted little time in trying to turn today's Supreme Court decision to overturn the District of Columbia handgun ban into a campaign issue.

With the ink on the ruling not yet dry, the National Republican Congressional Committee has issued a series of releases targeting vulnerable Democrats who had signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the ban.

A sample, circulated by the NRCC, takes aim at Democratic Rep. Carole Shea-Porter of New Hampshire:

"WASHINGTON - Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) found herself on the losing end of the Supreme Court's ruling today, as her liberal opposition to Second Amendment rights was defeated. In an historic ruling, the Supreme Court overturned a ban on handguns and on self-defense in the home, in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.

Opponents of the now overturned law had said it prevents residents from defending themselves. ...

"Shea-Porter also puts herself at odds with dozens of her fellow Democrats who signed onto the amicus brief that expressed support for the overturning of the gun ban.

" 'Shea-Porter's opposition to the Second Amendment puts her at odds with not only members of her own party, but the overwhelming majority her New Hampshire constituents,' said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.

by Mike Dorning
updated

Barack Obama today received the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, as expected, following a formal vote of top union leaders in the labor federation.

"I think that workers are angry and don't think they're getting a fair deal and are going to be very, very receptive to the Obama campaign," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a telephone interview.

The organized labor coalition is promising its "largest ever grassroots mobiization," which the AFL-CIO said will be concentrated in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The union federation claims that more than 250,000 volunteers will be deployed on behalf of Obama. By Labor Day, labor officials expect volunteers will go to 300,000 union voters homes, make more than 300,000 phone calls and distribute more than 2 million fliers.

Though the labor federation sat out the Democratic primary because of disagreements among its member unions over which candidate to support for the nomination, the AFL-CIO already has been at work seeking to persuade union members not to support presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, whose war-hero biography is appealing to many working-class voters.

"John McCain was a highly respected veteran--and we give him credit for that. But, if you look at his track record...on bills that were proposed to assist veterans in recent years, he's been against them. That's just one example," Sweeney said. "But he's been against prevailing wage laws, he's been against the Employee Free Choice Act, which we proposed. And Barack Obama has been on the right side on these issues."

Since the AFL-CIO launched its "McCain Revealed" initiative targeting the Republican candidate, union volunteers in swing states have visited more than 60,000 homes delivered more than 1.5 million fliers to members at their worksites attacking McCain's record on economic issues, according to the labor federation.

According to polling conducted for the AFL-CIO, favorable opinions of John McCain among union members have dropped precipitously. Before organized labor's anti-initiative against the Republican, 57 percent of union members held a favorable opinion of McCain but that dropped to 33 percent in a recent survey, said a Sweeney aide.

The AFL-CIO has budgeted $53.4 million to assist Obama and other candidates it has endorsed in this election.

By Mark Silva

The removal of North Korea from a list of states that sponsor terrorism and easing of restrictions under the Trading with Enemies Act will not "open the door" to a flood of new trade, the White House says, pointing to many more sanctions that Pyongyang still faces for human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation.

"This is not opening the door at this time for commercial relations," Steve Hadley, the president's national security adviser, said this morning. "That is one of the prospects that is open."

In exchange for North Korea's disclosure of its nuclear program - delivered today in documents for the Chinese, partners with the U.S. in six-party talks with North Korea - the Bush administration is lifting three sanctions under the Trading with Enemies Act but keeping two others. The White House also is advising Congress of its intent to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terror within 45 days.

"The degree of easing of sanctions is relatively minor," Hadley said. Yet the actions should be seen as significant in dealings with North Korea.

by Mike Dorning

Republican John McCain's campaign is accusing Barack Obama of "an incredible flip-flop" on guns now that the presidential campaign is in full swing.

In a conference call with reporters organized by the McCain campaign, Sen. Sam Brownback, (R-KS) claimed he was "amazed" by Obama's reaction today's Supreme Court ruling striking down the District of Columbia's handgun ban

Brownback called Obama's statement on the ruling an attempt to "sidestep" his earlier positions. "This is either an incredible flip-flop, or shows incredible inexperience on this issue," Brownback said.

Randy Scheunemann, senior policy adviser to the campaign, described what he called Obama's "positions, plaural," on the right to bear arms. "He has a clear record of opposing Second Amendment gun rights," he said.

"He's demonstrating that there's really no position he holds that he's not willing to change," Scheunemann added.

McCain, for his part, hailed the Supreme Court ruling without reservation.

By Mark Silva

In a year of many lasts, President Bush attended his last National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast as president today.

Bush, received with a warm and standing ovation, was credited for delivering the biggest federal budget for bilingual education ever and praised for promoting "comprehensive immigration reform," which he campaigned on but failed to win.

"Next year," the president said of his wife and his Texas ranch, "in Crawford, Laura and I are going to have a different kind of prayer breakfast.

"I'll be cooking the eggs, and she'll be praying I don't burn them."

by Mike Dorning

Barack Obama moments ago made his first public comment on the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling striking down the District of Columbia's handgun ban. The candidate issued a highly guarded written statement that compliments the Court for "much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country" but provides little sense of the Democratic presidential candidate's own view of the ruling.

Gun control presents a delicate issue for Democratic presidential candidates as they head into a general election. The party's base of liberals and urban dwellers strongly supports gun control as a way to combat street crime. But rural swing voters, many of whom come from hunting traditions and may face long waits for a police response in an emergency situation, are often suspicious of erosion of Second Amendment gun rights.

Al Gore's close identification with gun control is generally considered to have played a significant role in his loss of several rural swing states in 2000.

Here is Obama's statement in full:

by Andrew Zajac

Kansas State forward Michael Beasley provides more immediate help, but Memphis point guard Derrick Rose is a better long term prospect for the hometown Chicago Bulls, says Barak Obama, who, you get the distinct impression, would really enjoy the First Fan aspects of being president.

Obama, a former high school player who still gets in an occasional pick-up game, predicts Rose will be "like Jason Kidd with a jump shot."

The Bulls have the first pick in tonight's draft as a reward for a bad (33-49) season.

Obama clearly pays attention to college and pro hoops game but his eye for talent is not unerring.

He had North Carolina, a conventional wisdom pick, going all the way in the NCAA tournament, which was won by Kansas, in a win over Rose and his Memphians.

By Amanda Erickson

President hopeful John McCain (R-Ariz.) is a Monday through Friday kind of guy.

Politico reporter Jonathan Martin reports that the senator has held only one weekend event since he essentially clinched the nomination on Feb. 7. The campaign said McCain used his weekends to talk to advisors and meet with friends and family.

"For a huge part of that time there was a Democratic primary going on," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers told Politico. "And we felt like we could get done what we needed to do [publicly] during the week."

But some critics note that McCain's age is already a sensitive issue, and a packed seven-day a week calendar would show that he still has the energy to run the country.

Read the full story here.

by Mike Dorning

Robert Novak, a conservative columnist well-wired in the Republican establishment, reports concern in GOP circles about "Obamacans" defecting from the party to support Barack Obama.

Novak does not attribute the stirrings in favor of Obama to affection for the candidate, whom he describes as "rigidly liberal" nor animosity toward McCain. Instead, Novak lays the blame with the Bush White House, arguing "the Obamacan syndrome is based on hostility to Bush and his administration and on revulsion over today's Republican party."

He suggests the likely defection of former Reagan National Security Adviser and Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell from the Republican party to Obama is a blow the McCain camp fears.

"McCain strategists...wince in anticipating headlines generated by Powell's expected endorsement of Obama," Novak writes. "Powell probably will enter Obama's camp at a time of his own choosing."

"Obamacans--little and big--are reason for conern by McCain," Novak concludes. "They also should cause soul-searching at the Bush White House about who made the Republican Party so difficult a place for Republicans to stay."

By Stephen J. Hedges

What do bees have to do with ice cream and politics? A lot, as it turns out.

Bee populations are in decline, and no one is sure why. Theories include pesticides and a voracious tiny mite that can bring illness into bee hives.

Significant portions of the food industry rely on bees to pollinate fruit, nuts and other foods. Fewer bees to do that work could mean fewer and higher priced ingredients. Bees are rented by California almond growers, for example, to pollinate their crop every year.

That's where politics comes in. A group of businesses and bee enthusiasts who make up the Pollinator Partnership are appearing before a House of Representatives agriculture subcommittee today to discuss the plight of bees, and the impact on the foods that rely on bee pollination.

The group says that a third of the human food supply comes from pollinated plants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 80 percent of that pollination is due to honey bees.

That's a lot of food. And a continued lack of bees could bring a notable drop in available fruits, vegetables and nuts, as well as higher prices for those items.

by Jill Zuckman

Sen. John McCain, who has long had an uncomfortable relationship with the National Rifle Association, hailed today's Supreme Court decision on gun rights. Here is his statement:

"Today's decision is a landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom in the United States. For this first time in the history of our Republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers. I applaud this decision as well as the overturning of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and limitations on the ability to use firearms for self-defense.

By James Oliphant

The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday furtively embraced an interpretation of the Second Amendment long advocated by gun-rights supporters, finding for the first time in tghe nation's history that the Constitution guarantees an individudal the right to own a handgun.

The court, in combustible 5-4 ruling, struck down Washington, D.C.'s total ban on handgun ownership. The decision greatly endangers, but not immediately affects, Chicago's similar gun ban.

The landmark decision was written by Justice Antonin Scalia, who, in describing the opinion in open court Wednesday, said the Second Amendment should be read expansively and that it "means pretty much what it means today, to have and carry weapons."

Scalia said people will "not be deprived of the right to keep and bear arms."

The ruling of the court however was, as was expected, narrow in scope, applying only to the specific aspects of Washington's law, which prohibits the ownership of handguns and their registration. The D.C. act also requires that shotguns in the home be disassembled or trigger-locked.

And like other individual rights, Scalia wrote, the right to own a gun is subject to reasonable regulation, including laws preventing felons and the mentally ill from owning guns and those forbidding guns in schools and government buildings. He also suggested that certain types of dangerous or unusual guns could be banned.

The opinion also appears to leave concealed carry laws intact.

He was joined in the opinion by Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Justice John Paul Stevens summarized his dissent from the bench, blasting the majority for establishing what he called a "newly discovered" right and accusing the conservative bloc of not staying true to the principles of judicial restraint they frequently espouse.

The court, Stevens said, "is making new law today."

Both Stevens and Justice Stephen Breyer filed dissents in the case. They were joined by Justices David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The decision is 154 pages long and can be viewed here.

The Swamp will have more on this landmark ruling throughout the day.

by Bay Fang

Although President Bush announced this morning that he would lift key sanctions against the North Korean regime and remove it from the US terrorism blacklist, the State Department and administration officials followed up by emphasizing that other sanctions against the regime once dubbed part of the "axis of evil" remained in place.

For one, bans remain against missile equipment, possible dual-use technology, and the assets of any designated proliferators. Any assets that were previously frozen under the Trading with the Enemy Act remain frozen. Furthermore, sanctions put in place due to the regime's "gross violations" of human rights continue to prohibit any development or security assistance to Pyongyang.

While traveling in Japan for the G-8 meeting of foreign ministers, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the North Koreans to do more on resolving the issue of abductions of Japanese civilians "We're continuing to expect the North Koreans to take this issue seriously because it is a major issue for Japan and it's a major issue for the United States," Rice said.

In his remarks this morning, Bush expressed skepticism about the regime, which the Bush administration has accused of lying about its nuclear capabilities before.

"We will trust you only to the extent you fulfill your promises," Bush said in the Rose Garden. "I'm pleased with the progress. I'm under no illusions. This is the first step. This isn't the end of the process. It is the beginning of the process."

Next up in the process is a largely symbolic, made-for-TV destruction of a 65-foot-tall cooling tower, which is currently attached to its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon - which, under the terms of the agreement, has already been largely disabled.

Rice told reporters traveling with her in Japan that she thought the declaration was verifiable. "We believe we have ... the means by which to verify the completeness and accuracy of this document," she said.

by Jill Zuckman

In a new memo from John McCain's senior campaign adviser, Steve Schmidt, he makes the case that his candidate has done the hard thing over and over throughout his career when he could have done the easy thing.

Not surprisingly, he goes on to argue that McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, has never done anything but the easy thing, most helpful to himself.

"There has never been a time when Barack Obama has bucked the party line to lead on an issue of national importance," Schmidt writes. "He has never been a part of a bipartisan group that came together to solve a controversial issue. He has never put his career on the line for a cause greater than himself. Even as a state Senator, Obama voted 'present' on controversial bills. We have seen Barack Obama forced to choose between principle and the interests of himself and his party. He has always chosen the latter."

To read all of the McCain case, here is Schmidt's memo:

By Mark Silva

President Bush today hailed North Korea's disclosure of its nuclear program and promise to destroy part of its weapons-building reactor in a dramatic televised event as important first steps toward the goal of a nuclear weapon-free Korean peninsula.

Bush also moved to reward Pyongyang with two steps of his own: Lifting a U.S. ban on trade with North Koreans under the Trading with Enemies Act and a pledge to rescind his declaration of North Korea as a state sponsor of terror within 45 days if the nation lives up to its commitments.

"This is action for action," the president said during questions from reporters after a statement in the Rose Garden this morning.

Bush, who had identified North Korea as one of the three "axis of evil," acknowledged today that North Korea has much further to go in dismantling its weaponry and ending human rights abuses, but called this a welcome beginning,

"We will trust you only to the extent that you fulfill your promises," Bush said of the North Koreans. "This isn't the end of a process. This is the beginning of a process."

The U.S. remains concerned about human rights abuses in North Korea - including abduction of Japenese citizens - its nuclear proliferation and the threat it poses to its neighbors, said Bush, who also had targeted Iraq and Iran in his 2002 State of the Union "axis of evil" remarks.

"The U.S. has no illusions about the regime in Pyongyang," Bush said today.

by Mark Silva

What was Ralph Nader up to when he suggested that the one thing that distinguishes Barack Obama in the presidential contest is his race yet the senator from Illinois likes to "talk white?''

"Attention,'' replied Obama, who voiced some dismay about what's become of a legend once known as a consumer advocate now making a repeat run for president as an independent and disparaging the Democratic candidate.

Obama also suggested that Nader hasn't been paying attention to Obama's own speeches - to which an unrepentant Nader last night said, yes, he has been, and that's the problem - as Don Frederick at Top of the Ticket notes.

"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate,'' Nader had told the Rocky Mountain News, in comments published Tuesday. "He's half African-American.

"Whether that will make any difference, I don't know,'' Nader said. "I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards.''

Obama, responding at a press conference Wednesday in Chicago, said: "What's clear is, Ralph Nader hasn't been paying attention to my speeches,'' and offered his view of Nader's motivation for making such remarks.

"Ralph Nader's trying to get attention,'' Obama said. "He's become a perennial political candidate. I think it's a shame, because if you look at his legacy ... it's an extraordinary one. ... At this point, he's somebody who's trying to get attention, whose campaign hasn't gotten any traction."

Nader, in turn, maintained his stance - "Sen., Obama said earlier today that I haven't been paying attention to his campaign.,'' Nader said in a statement issued last night. "Actually, I have.

"And it's clear from Sen. Obama's campaign that he is not willing to tackle the white power structure,' he said, "whether in the form of the corporate power structure or many of the super-rich -- who are taking advantage of 100 million low-income Americans who are suffering in poverty or near poverty."

by Katie Fretland

The public's confidence in the economy has reached its lowest level since 1992, and the percentage of people reporting it is getting worse is at a record high, Gallup reports in its tracking of consumer confidence.

However, two groups that are likely to be less pessimistic about the current economic conditions are college graduates and Republicans, Gallup chief economist Dennis Jacobe reports.

In mid-June, 47 percent of Americans reported that the economy is "poor," up 4 percent from April and May.

The percentage of college graduates rating the economy as "poor" increased 16 percent since January, compared to 21 percent for people who did not earn a college degree.

"College graduates tend to have higher incomes than other Americans, so it is not surprising that upper-income Americans are also generally less likely to rate the economy as 'poor,'" Jacobe says.

Republicans tend to report more positive opinions about the economy, with 29 percent rating economic conditions as "poor," compared with 48 percent of Independents and 58 percent of Democrats.

This optimism reflects higher average incomes and possibly political loyalty to the GOP, Jacobe says, however the number of Republicans rating the economy as "poor" has more than doubled since January.

Jacobe offers this commentary on the report:

by Mark Silva

In the eighth and final episode of the Top of the Ticket's video chat with Matt Welch, author of John McCain, the Myth of a Maverick, the writer explores the personal and political personas of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

"This discussion focuses on McCain's thinking and the possible choices for vice presidential running mate,'' the Ticket's Andrew Malcolm writes. "And a couple of the names Welch mentions may surprise you.''

See the eighth installment, and the previous seven, at the L.A. Times'
Top of the Ticket.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Thursday, June 26.

President Bush is speaking at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and later at the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Conference.

The Commerce Department is releasing the 1st quarter report on the Gross Domestic Product.

The National Association of Realtors is releasing the existing home sales report for May.

by Amanda Erickson

By the time the chairman asked staffs to stay at work during Congress' Fourth of July recess, it was clear the landmark consumer protection bill passed earlier this year was not close to being finalized.

The bill passed the House in December and the Senate in March. Since then, employees of key lawmakers have been trying to iron out the differences between the two pieces of legislation. For the last several weeks, they've been predicting that they would have a final bill by this Friday. But at today's conference meeting between House members and senators, it was clear that the bill was going nowhere by the end of the week. Most of the major unresolved questions remain, well, unresolved.

Will the final bill include a law to require the creation a public database which would publish concerns of consumers? The committee hasn't decided yet. The database would allow anyone to submit complaints and read what others have to say. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already has a similar database for cars, but some worry that manufacturers' products will be unfairly blacklisted.

Another key issue is whether to include the Senate's ban on phthalates in the final bill. Phthalates are a chemical used in plastic toys like rubber duckies to make them soft and flexible. Some studies have linked the substance to health problems like birth defects and testicular cancer, but a handful law-makers said there isn't enough medical proof to warrant a blanket law.

Other hot-button issues? How much power attorneys general should have. What kind of protection should be afforded to whistle-blowers who let authorities know a company is up to no good. Whether companies should be protected by shield laws if their products hurt children.

Staffers will keep negotiating, and the committee will meet again after the Fourth of July. The list of deals that were reached (at least 20) was not yet released, but we'll update you when it comes out.

by Rick Pearson

The Rev. Jesse Jackson says the anticipated nomination of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate represents a crowning achievement for the civil rights movement as well as an "I-told-you-so" moment in the history of race relations in the United States.

Jackson, appearing before the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune in advance of the annual Rainbow PUSH Coalition convention that begins Saturday, also said he was largely satisfied with the Democratic delegate selection system that was a key to the extended party nominating--a system Jackson was primarily responsible for in 1988.

Jackson called Obama's nomination "the last lap of a 54-year marathon race" that began with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that separate was not equal in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, followed by the lessons learned from the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and the inspiration of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech in Washington in 1963.

"People have been too quick to say, 'Back in the civil rights day.' The civil rights movement never stopped," Jackson said. "Its form may have changed from certain kinds of demonstration activity but the struggle to get the right to vote was not led by either party. They celebrate the results of it, but in those marches, neither party invested in the success of those marches or martyrs."

Jackson said that while the Democratic nomination represented a victory for Obama, "it's a victory for America in that it's a redemptive, transformative moment for America, showing growing maturity and broader vision, more inclusion."

"This," he said, "is an 'I-told-you-so' moment."

by John McCormick

Sen. Barack Obama just concluded a news conference in Chicago late this afternoon. A quick snapshot of a few highlights:

* On campaigning with Sen. Hillary Clinton on Friday and beyond: "I want her campaigning as much as she can. She was a terrific campaigner. She, I think, inspired millions of people. And so she can be an extraordinarily effective surrogate for me, and the values and ideals that we share as Democrats. You know, I want her out there talking to people about how we're going to provide universal health care. I want her to talk about...I think we can send Sen. Clinton anywhere and she'll be effective...I'm looking forward to campaigning vigorously with her. I think we will have a terrific time together in New Hampshire, and I think that she will very effective all the way through November."

* On whether he is concerned about not receiving a more full-throated endorsement from former President Bill Clinton: "No, because I'm going to be appearing with Sen. Hillary Clinton, the former president's wife, who was involved in an epic, historic primary with me, and then I'm going to be campaigning with her on Friday. So, it's understandable that the former president wouldn't want to upstage what is going to a terrific unity event over the next day and a half. Now, if the question is, do I want Bill Clinton campaigning for us for the ticket leading into November, the answer is absolutely yes. I want him involved. He is a brilliant politician. He was an outstanding president, so I want his help, not only in campaigning, but also in governing, and I'm confident that I will get that help."

* On defending his decision to reject public financing: "The overwhelming bulk of the 1.7 million donors that we get money from are ordinary Americans, not fat cats," he said. "Do we have some big donors? Absolutely, but that's not what drives our campaign. And as a consequence, we're actually in a position where, if a large donor wants to contribute to us, but wants something in return, I can afford to simply say no, I'm not interested. There's no single donor in our campaign, or group of donors on which we depend because our donor base is the American people."

* On today's Supreme Court decision involving the death penalty for child rapists: "I disagree with the decision. I have said repeatedly that I think that the death penalty should be applied in very narrow circumstances for the most egregious of crimes. I think that the rape of a small child, six or eight years old, is a heinous crime and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances, the death penalty is at least potentially applicable, that that does not violate our constitution. Now, I think it's, you know, had the Supreme Court said we want to constrain the abilities of states to do this to make sure that it's done in a careful and appropriate way, that would have been one thing. But, it basically had a blanket prohibition and I disagreed with that decision."

* On Ralph Nader's recent statements that Obama is campaigning in a way that appeals to "white guilt": "What's clear is Ralph Nader hasn't been paying attention to my speeches....Ralph Nader is trying to get attention. He's become a perennial political candidate. I think it's a shame because if you look at his legacy, in terms of consumer protections, it's an extraordinary one."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded in a statement: "Everyone in America knows that Barack Obama refused to keep his commitment to public financing because of the money. His arrogant refusal to concede that he broke his word to the American people either shows that he is unable to admit the facts or that he believes Americans aren't smart enough to recognize typical politics when they see it."

by Jill Zuckman

Giving donors some of his famous straight talk, Sen. John McCain talked about the odds for Republicans today during a fundraiser in Las Vegas.

Right now, if the election were tomorrow, we Republicans would lose seats in both the House and Senate," McCain said. "That's just a fact. But that's what campaigns are about, that's what campaigns are about, that's why we have them. And I'm confident the restoration of the trust and confidence of our base that we can win. Because, to be very honest with you, I don't think the American people think the Democrats are governing very well in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. So it's not as if they are a shining example of good government."

Still, McCain is well aware that most polls show Sen. Barack Obama in the lead, and some show him with a large lead.

"So how are we doing? There's some polls out that show that Sen. Obama has a substantial lead. There's other polls, including a Gallup poll today, show that we are even," McCain said. "The first lesson I want you to draw is that people are really are not gonna start focusing on the campaign until the conventions. So a lot of this polling data is pretty much, sort of, you know, 'Who do you like?' and all that.

"Americans are gonna try to enjoy the summer but they're not gonna drive as far this summer as they did in previous summers but so they're really probably gonna focus in the conventions," he said. "It's good to see yourself running, for us to be, most polls show us frankly two, three, four points down. That's good for this stage of the game particularly considering the headwind we have on our economy."

McCain, who was at the home of Sig Rogich, the former ambassador to Iceland, and his wife, Lori, has spoken often about the problem with the Republican brand, citing the Bridge to Nowhere as a tipping point for Americans. And he noted that polls show him running well ahead of generic Republicans despite the bad economic times.

by Katie Fretland

Who do you like better Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton?

A new national poll by the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg says that 52 percent of registered voters feel positively about Bill Clinton compared to 49 percent for Hillary Clinton.

As for negative opinions, 36 percent don't like Bill Clinton while 39 percent feel negatively for Hillary Clinton.

Our colleague Don Frederick at Top of the Ticket the rest of the story including how the public likes the candidates for the White House here.

by Katie Fretland

A bipartisan coalition of former national security officials, military leaders and religious figures today called for President Bush to issue an executive order banning torture. The group includes members of eight presidential administrations, including both Bush administrations, and leaders from the Baptist, Catholic and Evangelical faiths.

"Though we come from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life, we agree that the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against prisoners is immoral, unwise, and un-American," the group said in a letter today. "In our effort to secure ourselves, we have resorted to tactics, which do not work, which endanger U.S personnel abroad, which discourage political, military, and intelligence cooperation from our allies, and which ultimately do not enhance our security."

Today marked the beginning of a campaign to garner public support and the support of leaders before taking the statement to the president, the group said.

In a conference call with reporters, retired Gen. Paul J. Kern said the call to ban torture aims to restore the values of the country.

"I could find no evidence that torture produces any answers that are credible and that are useful for the commanders to judge against other materials that they find in their intelligence collection," said Kern, who led an internal investigation of the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.

Torture contradicts the rights protected by the Geneva Convention that U.S. servicemen and women should have if captured, Kern said.

Today at the White House, Press Secretary Dana Perino said the administration has already passed laws relating to detainee treatment.

"We feel like we have taken steps to address that issue," Perino said. "And I would also point out that we face a very different enemy today than America has ever faced before. We face an enemy that respects no borders, respects no uniforms, and certainly has no regard for civilians, especially innocent women and children and the elderly. So we take his position seriously, but we do think that we have the mechanisms in place to address the issue."

Alberto Mora, the former general counsel for the U.S Navy said torture has not prevented attacks or made the country safer. In fact, the short and long term costs of torture weaken the United States' defenses by hurting alliances needed for the war on terror, he said. Virtually all countries the United States wants to ally with during war consider torture criminal, Mora said.

by Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain, a retired Naval aviator, Naval Academy graduate and son and grandson of admirals, draws a high level of confidence among voters in his ability to serve as commander-in-chief - with 80 percent of those surveyed saying McCain can handle the job.

Sen. Barack Obama, who never has served in the military but is a graduate of Harvard Law, barely passes the 50-percent mark on this question - with 55 percent of those surveyed telling the Gallup Poll that Obama can handle the job.

And, at a time when other polls are starting to portray growing advantages for Democrat Obama in his contest with Republican McCain for the White House, the Gallup Poll's daily tracking survey has returned to a dead-even matchup between the two: Obama 45 percent, McCain 45 percent.

The results of the newest Gallup track come from surveys conducted June 22-24 - fresher than the surveys conducted by either the L.A. Times or Newsweek that showed 12-point and 15-point advantages, respectively, for Obama. The Gallup Poll of 2,600 registered voters carries a possible 2 percent margin of error.

But on a deeper question of public trust in the competence of the candidates to perform one of the paramount duties of the office, Gallup has found a wide divide in the way voters view McCain and Obama. This may well play into the themes that McCain, in particular, brings to the campaign this summer.

"McCain clearly enjoys a more broad-based positive reputation with Americans for military matters than does Obama, but it is unclear how this will benefit him in the election,'' Gallup's Lydia Saad writes. "McCain gets significantly more crossover acclaim from Democrats for being able to fulfill the duties of commander in chief than Obama does from Republicans, but this is unlikely to win him many crossover votes.''

Read more here, and see the Gallup Poll.

by Katie Fretland

The public can expect to see a sharp increase in advertisements paid for by issue groups as the race for the White House continues, according to TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group.

According to the research group's newsletter, the CMAG Eye, the Service Employees International Union has already spent $3.2 million for ads on issues such as healthcare costs, prescription drugs and oil with a call for Obama to bring change. MoveOn.org spent $450,000 mostly on anti-McCain ads showing similarities between the Republican senator and President Bush. The liberal anti-war group also has dedicated advertising spending to pro-Obama commercials.

In an analysis of House and Senate Races this year, the research group found only 12 out of nearly 60 new ads did not say anything negative about a candidate.

See the full newsletter here: The Eye - June 2008.pdf

by Aamer Madhani

The two U.S. senators from Kansas have what they say is the "gold standard" of military prisons in their back yard, but they have repeated their stance that Kansans want nothing to do with housing Guantanamo detainees.

The debate over what to do with Guantanamo was revived by the Supreme Court decision earlier this month that said the prisoners can ask federal judges to review the government's grounds for keeping them locked up without charges.

The left-leaning Washington think tank, Center for American Progress, has released a report recommending detainees slated for trial in military courts be transferred to the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. The suggestion has apparently gotten under two Republican lawmakers' skin.

In a letter Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts sent to their colleagues yesterday, the two lawmakers laid out the reasons why they believe the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth--the only maximum security lockup in the military system-- isn't secure enough to host some 270 enemy combatants that are now being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Here is an excerpt:

by James Oliphant

Earlier this week, it looked like the bill modifying the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act would clear Congress by the end of the week and reach the president's desk before July 4.

That may yet happen, but the outcome is less certain, as is the timing.

A vocal minority of Democratic senators are rebelling against the deal reached by Senate and House negotiators, saying that the provisions in the bill dealing with telecom immunity are a sham. The House, pushed by Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, passed the compromise bill Friday. And supporters say it balances giving the government needed tools to fight terrorism with sufficient concern for civil liberties.

The bill's passage looked secure earlier this week when the presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, said he would vote for it.

But Tuesday night, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) delivered an impassioned address saying that the bill essentially provided immunity to the telecom companies that allegedly assisted the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program to monitor suspected terrorists.

The negotiated compromise would allow a judge to grant immunity to the telecoms if they cooperated with a request from the Attorney General or the head of another agency for assistance, even if the underlying program was unconstitutional or illegal. The companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, are defendants in civil lawsuits for violating individual privacy rights.

Dodd urged his fellow senators not not vote Wednesday to cut off debate on the issue. And he tied granting to immunity to a host of Bush administration policies that he said exhibited a lack of respect for the rule of law:

[W]e are deceiving ourselves when we talk about the U.S. attorneys issue, the habeas issue, the torture issue, the rendition issue, or the secrecy issue as if each were an isolated case! As if each one were an accident! When we speak of them as isolated, we are keeping our politics cripplingly small; and as long as we keep this small, the rule of men is winning.

There is only one issue here. Only one: the law issue.

By Rick Pearson

Sen. Hillary Clinton is turning to her Internet fundraising supporters for cash and while she's also counting on her successful Democratic presidential rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, to help her with her hefty campaign debts, his name isn't part of her appeal.

In an e-mail missive today, the New York Democrat said she doesn't want people to help repay the personal loans she made to the campaign, estimated to be more than $11 million or about half the campaign debt.

"I'm not asking for anyone's help to pay that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause," she wrote. "But I do need your help paying the debts we accrued to others over the course of this campaign. We put everything we had into winning this race, and we came just about as close as you can."

The former Democratic presidential contender's campaign debt totals about $22.5 million.

While Obama has indicated he will try to urge his donors to help Clinton retire the debt and both Democratic senators are scheduled for a joint, unity-aimed campaign appearance later this week, Clinton's e-mail never mentioned Obama by name.

"I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it," she wrote.

President Bush and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani shake hands during a meeting June 25, 2008 in the Oval Office. (Photo credit MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

By David Nitkin

President Bush will travel to Asia after Independence Day for the annual G8 meeting, the latest part of a hectic travel schedule that has shuttled him across the globe during his last months in office.

Is he getting jet-lagged? Nah. Bush inisists he is feeling "good," he said today, answering a question intended for his guest in the Oval Office, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

The meeting was a late addition to the president's weekly schedule, having been announced yesterday. Talabani is in the United States for what published reports say is a three-week visit for medical treatment on his weight and/or his knee. (Reports give conflicting accounts.)

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has confirmed that Talabani received treatment there, according to the Associated Press, but did not disclose the condition. Talabani, 73, has a history of health issues: he collapsed last year and was treated at the Mayo Clinic.

According to the Independent newspaper in London, Talabani's office released a quote from a recent news conference referencing the president's health.

"I don't have any health problems except my obesity and I will treat it, God willing," the Independent quoted Talabani as saying. "I will go to the USA and stay nearly three weeks to lose weight and have some rest and relaxation ... away from meetings and work."

But a little more than a week after arriving in the U.S., Talabani was in Washington for a meeting with Bush. Bush called Talabani a "friend" who has been "on the front lines" of creating a free Iraq. Talabani went further, calling Bush a "great friend."

A group of reporters and photographers was allowed to enter the Oval Office, as is customary, for pictures and to hear a statement. At the end, one reporter ventured a question: "How is your health, Mr. President? How are you feeling?"

President Talabani looked blankly. An answer instead came from President Bush. "Good, thanks," Bush said.

By James Oliphant

The Supreme Court Wednesday chopped a titanic punitive damage award leveled at Exxon Mobil Corp. over the calamitous 1989 tanker accident and oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound.

The court reduced the award from $2.5 billion to $507.5 million, saying that punitive damage awards, even for disasters on the scale of the wreck of the Exxon Valdez, need to reasonably predictable for corporate actors and others and that too massive an award is unfair.

The decision, written by Justice David Souter, held that punitive damages should be awarded in an even ratio to compensatory damages in a given case. In the Exxon case, a jury awarded $507.5 million in compensatory damages to 33,000 fishermen and others who suffered severe economic harm when the Valdez ran aground and dumped millions of gallons of crude oil into the sound.

The court used that figure as a bases for reducing the $2.5 billion award. Souter cautioned that the court was acting as a maritime court in issuing its ruling, which would limit the breadth of its decision.

The Valdez was captained by the now infamous Joseph Hazelwood, who, Souter said, "left the helm at a critical moment." Hazelwood had been drinking. The Exxon supertanker then smashed into a reef.

A trial, a jury originally socked Exxon with punitives of $5 billion, but that number was cleaved in half by a federal appeals court.

At oral arguments in the case, Exxon had pleaded for relief, saying that it spent some $2.1 billion in clean up efforts, paid $900 million in fines to the United States and Alaska and another $303 million in payments to private parties.

Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer filed dissents saying they would have upheld the appeals court award of $2.5 billion.

Thursday will be the final day of the court's 2007-2008 term and the justices are saving perhaps the most dramatic opinion for last: the ruling on whether the District of Columbia's ban on guns violates the Second Amendment of the Constitution. That decision will be handed down shortly after 10 a.m., Eastern Time, Thursday.

by Matthew Hay Brown

One of the nation's most conservative congressmen apparently wasn't conservative enough for Utah's Third Congressional District.

In a trend that may indicate the depth of voter dissatisfaction with Washington, six-term Rep. Chris Cannon on Tuesday became the third veteran House member defeated in a party primary this year when first-time candidate Jason Chaffetz beat him handily for the Republican nomination.

The American Conservative Union gave Cannon a near-perfect score of 96 percent for 2007, and he enjoyed the support of President Bush and the state's two Republican senators, Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennet. But Chaffetz, a former placekicker at Brigham Young Univeristy and chief of staff for Gov. Jon Hunstman, attacked him from the right on issues including immigration, prescription drug benefts and the No Child Left Behind Act.

Chaffetz had captured 60 percent of the vote with 93 percent of precincts counted, the Associated Press reported. In an analysis this morning, Congressional Quarterly blames Cannon's inability to turn out supporters.

Chaffetz now is expected to cruise to victory this fall in the district that includes central and southewestern Utah, where President Bush won 77 percent of the vote in 2004.

Cannon's defeat follows those of Reps. Wayne Gilchrest and Albert Wynn, both of Maryland, in February.

By James Oliphant

A divided Supreme Court Wednesday slammed the door on expanding the death penalty to cover violent crimes that do not result in the death of the victim, overturning a Louisiana law that permitted capital punishment for child rapists.

In the 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court held that the law violated the Constitution's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

Allowing the execution of child rapists, Kennedy wrote, runs counter to "evolving standards of decency in a maturing society."

Kennedy said that the court and society has an interest in limiting the application of the death penalty, and noted that 44 states currently prohibit the execution of defendants who are convicted of crimes where a death did not occur.

The case involved Patrick Kennedy, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1998 rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter. The girl was badly injured in the assault and required surgery.

Kennedy has insisted he is innocent. His lawyers have also argued that he is borderline mentally challenged.

The court's decision is in line with its decisions earlier this decade outlawing the execution of the mentally retarded and defendants who were juveniles when the capital offense was committed. Kennedy was the key figure in those cases as well.

Justice Samuel Alito filed a dissent in the case, joined by the other members of the conservative wing of the court, Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and John Roberts. The dissent pointed a small, but growing minority of states that have sought to broaden the death penalty to cover child rape.

"The harm that is caused to the victims and to society at large by the worst child rapists is grave," Alito wrote. "It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of other States that these harms justify the death penalty."

by Jill Zuckman

Soon, Sen. Barack Obama will be able to boast of a big plum in the race for president.

It's a plum that will offer him money, votes and boots on the ground as he works to turn out support for his candidacy.

The AFL-CIO General Board, made up of leaders from 56 unions, began voting Tuesday by fax and will continue voting through Thursday morning on whether to endorse Obama for president. An announcement is expected by tomorrow afternoon.

"Working families hold the key to turning around our country this election year," said AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman. "We look forward to heading into this election with a strong, unified labor program that will engage union voters like never before."

Currently, the AFL-CIO is spending $53.4 million to persuade its members and their families not to vote for Sen. John McCain for president. If the General Board votes to endorse, it will expand its message to persuade members to support Obama.

The AFL-CIO is targeting 24 states and more than 13 million voters with direct mail, phone calls, door knocking, and worksite visits. In states like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, union voters make up 25-35 percent of the total vote.

Obama has a 98 percent rating from the AFL-CIO during his brief time in the Senate compared to McCain's lifetime rating of just 16 percent.

by Katie Fretland

Sen. Barack Obama has defended himself against accusations by an influential conservative that he had distorted the Bible and pushed a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.

Yesterday, James Dobson, founder of the Christian group Focus on the Family, said in a radio segment that Obama distorted "the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology" during a June 2006 speech.

"Any notion that I was distorting the Bible in that speech, somebody would have to be pretty hard pressed to make that argument," Obama said. "It was a speech that affirms the role of faith in not just my life, but in the life of the American people."

In the speech, Obama asked, "Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is okay and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?"

Obama also said Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."

Dobson said Obama was dragging religious understanding "through the gutter."

Read more about what Dobson said and the Obama camp's response in The Swamp.

by Mark Silva

"Barack Obama has a serious iPod,'' says Will Dana, managing editor of Rolling Stone magazine.

John Coltrane.

Stevie Wonder

Bruce Springsteen, and more.

These are among the personal details that Jann Wenner, editor of the music magazine, has wrested from the Democratic candidate for president in an interview featured in the new issue of Rolling Stone, which, for the second time this election cycle, features a photo of Obama on its cover. Only a photo this time. No words.

It's "the moment,'' Dana explains.

The m.e. was explaining all this on Morning Joe, that MSNBC program that attracts all sorts of people -- Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, among them this morning, explaining that the Republican candidate is not all that worried about polls like the new L.A. Times survey showing a significant advantage for Obama, a survey which Davis believes has oversampled Democrats.

In the record-rack department, Dana suggests that Obama has a hands-down advantage over McCain, known for his affinity for Abba.

But rememember, this is the magazine that has featured Democrats Al Gore, Howard Dean and John Kerry on its covers as well. "We got Al Gore elected,'' Dana joked. Joe Scarborough asked asked Dana when they plan to put McCain on the cover of the Rolling Stone:

"We're working on it.''

by Mark Silva

"Sen. John McCain stood up at a fundraiser last night in the oceanfront home of former ambassador George Argyros in Newport Beach. There were probably 80 people there,'' Andrew Malcolm tells us of a candidate who may be down in the polls but also right where he wants to be. "They dined on filet mignon, which cost $25,000 a couple.

"McCain held his arms in that stiff bent way that he always does, a result of his nearly six years of POW imprisonment in Vietnam. The Republican nominee-to-be looked out at the guests and he told the truth: "My friends," he said, "this is a tough race. We are behind. We are the underdog."

"And then he uttered another truth that McCain's competitors ignore at their peril: 'That's what I like to be.'"

Malcolm, writing at Top of the Ticket, notes that the new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found McCain down 12-15 points in his contest with Sen. Barack Obama - "if the election was held last weekend, which, as it turns out, it wasn't.''

As of June 1, Obama had raised nearly $288 million, McCain $110 million - but that's largely been primary fundraising. The general election campaign looms.

"Strange to say,'' Malcolm suggests, "but looking at the Arizona senator's military and political record, personality and campaign history, it looks like McCain's got Barack Obama right where he wants him. Think about it. Where do fighter pilots maneuver to be, to position themselves for the kill? Not out front, for sure.''

See the rest of Malcolm's take at Top of the Ticket. And see the AP photo above of the young McCain, Naval aviator, in a flight suit.

by Mark Silva

Ray Noland, a Chicago-based artist, is behind a lot of the "street art'' about Barack Obama that is popping up.

We reported on some of that art showing up in New York yesterday.

Here is a closer look at the artist behind some of it, and his work.

Mamas for Obama, and more.

by Mike Dorning

Barack Obama could make major gains in at least nine states the Democratic ticket lost in 2004 if he can achieve a relatively modest increase in turnout among young and African American voters, a Tribune analysis of voting data suggests.

That potential helps explain why the Obama campaign chose to forgo federal funding and also why it is engaged in a massive voter registration drive. With its unprecedented resources, the campaign can fund an array of specific targeting operations, and he exploited early versions of those to great success during the primary campaign.

If Obama could inspire just 10 percent more Democratic voters under 30 to go to the polls than did four years ago, that alone could be enough to switch Iowa and New Mexico from red to blue, the analysis suggests.

Just a 10 percent increase in turnout among blacks would make up more than 40 percent of Bush's 2004 victory margin in Ohio and more than 20 percent of the Republicans' 2004 victory margin in Florida.

Turnout increases of 10 percent of both young voters and African Americans could virtually eliminate the Republicans' 2004 victory margin in Ohio and go a long way to closing the gap in Colorado, Nevada, Missouri, Virginia and--a bit more of a stretch--possibly North Carolina.

by Mark Silva

At "Farewell, Mr. President,'' they are collecting video-commentary from Americans interested in bidding adieu to the soon-retiring President Bush.

While the Web-site is open to fans and fanatical critics alike, it's safe to say that you may not find it too amusing if you recently sent that check to Laura Bush celebrating the president's 62nd birthday (It's a fundraising gimmick for the GOP).

You will find a woman with a cat and a sense of humor, but no health care, a man who thinks he can immitate the -- "what is it, 43rd?'' -- president, and a woman who certainly cannot imitate Marilyn Monroe, actually a number of women who can't, all contributing videos in the spirit of a fitting send-off for the retiring commander-in-chief. You will find much more as well -- with comments invited.

The folks at Tony Harding Entertainment and Media, a New York-based production company, operating this site say they are preparing a videotape for personal delivery to the White House.

It's fair to say they may get stopped at the gate, judging by the rough cuts.

Viewer-discretion is advised at Farewell, Mr. President..

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wedenesady, June 25.

The Senate and House joint economic committee is holding a hearing on oil's impact on the economy.

The Supreme Court is handing down more decsions as its annual term nears the end.

President Bush will host the president of Iraq in the Oval Office this morning.

He will attend the national security adviser's meeting with the United Nations Security Council Permanent Representatives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

This afternoon, the president will fly to Livonia, Mich., to address the Max M. Fisher National Republican Award Dinner, and return to Washington this evening.

by John McCormick and Mark Silva and updated

Comes word tonight that Sen. Barack Obama is ready to help Sen. Hillary Clinton clear some $10 million in debt owed to vendors who served her campaign for president.

In advance of two joint appearances later this week that seek to demonstrate party unity, Obama has asked his top fundraisers to do what they can to help eliminate her campaign debt, the Tribune has confirmed.

A Democratic source with knowledge of the situation said Obama instructed members of his national finance committee during a conference call today to help Clinton with some of the $10 million she owes to vendors.

The former first lady, who exited the Democratic contest on June 7, ended May with $22.5 million in debt, more than half of it from personal loans to her campaign.

Obama and Clinton are preparing to assemble many of Clinton's own best fundraisers Thursday evening in Washington to implore them to put their shoulders to the wheel of Obama's fundraising now that he has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination that Clinton sought for so long.

The two are to appear together Friday in Unity, N.H., a tiny town of fewer than 2,000 people where both Clinton and Obama drew the exact same number of votes in their primary contest.

Obama already is on a course to breaking all fundraisng records in his bid for the White House, and his contributors, who provided as much as $55 million a month for his primary campaign at the height of the winter battle and $22 million just last month, could go a long way toward helping Clinton repay her debts to those who served her campaign.

by Mark Silva

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama claims a significant advantage over Republican Sen. John McCain at the start of their campaign for the White House, according to the results of a new poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News.

In a two-way matchup, the poll has found Obama favored among 49 percent of those surveyed, McCain 37 percent. This is almost as wide an advantage as Obama held (15 points) in a Newsweek poll published over the weekend - both surveys portraying Obama far better positioned in his bid for the White House than other surveys have shown in recent days. The poll was run over the weekend.

In a four-way ballot that includes independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr, Obama holds a 48-33 percentage-point advantage over McCain in the L.A. Times and Bloomberg survey - suggesting that it is McCain who stands to lose the most to third- and fourth-party alternatives who may appeal to an independent voter whom both Obama and McCain are courting in their campaigns for president.

The added margin for Obama in the broader matchup appears due less to Obama's strength and more to McCain's weakness, the L.A. Times reports.

The Arizona senator suffers from a pronounced "enthusiasm gap," especially among conservatives who usually provide republican candidates with a reliable base, the Times adds. Fewer than 80 percent of self-described Republicans say they will vote for their party's candidate this year, with about 10 percent saying they plan to vote for someone else and about 10 percent undecided. Among voters who say they do plan to vote for McCain, almost half say they are "not enthusiastic" about the candidate.

By contrast, the Times reports, about 80 percent of Obama's voters say they are enthusiastic and almost half say they are "very enthusiastic.''

See the story at the Los Angeles Times.

by Mark Silva

Here's a (fire-breathing, no less) liberal with a safe district.

Rob Wexler, congressman from Florida and firebrand for the Democratic Party, has brought out a new book about life in Congress: Fire-Breathing Liberal - How I learned to Survive (and Thrive) in the Contact Sport of Congress.

This has been "an extraordinary year for the Democratic Party'' with "two phenomenal candidates'' for president, suggests Wexler.

"For Florida Democrats, this has not been an easy primary season,'' he writes with some understatement. "Now we are united as Democrats and as Floridians determined to close the Bush era in Washington, D.C. and usher in a new progressive agenda in our nation where we finally deliver on the promise of universal health care, funding for a national catastrophic insurance fund, protecting a woman's right to choose, and bringing our troops home from Iraq.

As a member of Congress for 12 years, the Democrat from Boca Raton and former state legislator writes, "I have never been as optimistic as I am today about the prospects for our state and our nation.''

His book takes readers "onto the floor of the House and into the streets and condos of South Florida, putting them at the center of some of the last decade's biggest controversies,'' writes the congressman who fought President Bill Clinton's impeachment and removal from office.

Only in those condos of South Florida could a six-term congressman embrace not only the liberal moniker, but also the fire-breathing classification. (Palm Beach Post photo.)

by Mark Silva

As Sen. Hillary Clinton prepares to join forces with Sen. Barack Obama this week in his bid for the White House -- appearing with her fundraisers at his fundraising event on Thursday night, and making a public appearance with him in Unity, N.H., on Friday -- the senator from New York returned today to her day job.

Don Frederick at Top of the Ticket notes that Clinton ended a two-week respite following her loss to Obama in the Democratic primaries, after almost 18 months of being preoccupied with her own quest for the White House.

A crowd was on hand for her arrival on Capitol Hill. Not a large one -- perhaps 100 or so -- according to the L.A. Times' Noam Levey, on the scene. And while some were supporters, a few were interns who had been told by supervisors to line the steps.

The receiving committee and attendant tourists "combined to give the defeated candidate a warm welcome,'' Frederick writes, "cheering and waving as she made her way into her workplace. 'We missed you,' shouted one woman.''

"And Clinton -- dressed in a bright turquoise suit much like the one she wore on the last day of the primary season on June 3 -- looked upbeat as she paused to shake hands. She made a point of asking some of the younger onlookers where they were from and thanking them for coming out to see her. She then disappeared inside the edifice, where she joined her Democratic colleagues for their weekly policy lunch in the Lyndon Baynes Johnson room outside the Senate chamber.''

See the rest of the account at Top of the Ticket. Photo of Clinton by the AP..

by Katie Fretland

Barack Obama has made the news more than John McCain lately with several big stories last week.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism has an index of what makes the news each week of the campaign season. Here is what happened from June 16 to 22:

Obama appeared as a "significant or dominant" factor in 76 percent of stories, compared to 53 percent for McCain, according to PEJ. Some stories last week about Obama included his decision to abandon public financing, Al Gore's endorsement and Obama's apology to two Muslim women that were banned from seating behind his podium at a rally.

Michelle Obama and President Bush also played a key role in campaign coverage last week. In a measure of the campaign newshole, the potential First Lady took up 9 percent of campaign stories. The press has focused on whether Michelle Obama is trying to remake her image following criticism for her remarks that she was proud of her country "for the first time" in her adult life.

In the coverage of McCain, Bush helped drive the campaign narrative taking up 7 percent of the campaign newshole. Here, the press has focused on the Bush-McCain relationship. (Critics have said McCain is pursuing a third term of Bush's presidency). In an advertisement last week, McCain says that he stood up to Bush about the environment, however they took the same position on offshore drilling.

See the full pdf of the PEJ report here.

Continue reading here for the top overall stories of the week:

by Aamer Madhani

In a sobering assessment of the situation in eastern Afghanistan, a top U.S. general said today that attacks have increased by 40 percent this year in the large swath of area controlled by American troops.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon by video conference, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser said there have been 40 U.S., Polish and Czech troops as well as civilian coalition members killed in the eastern part of the country since the start of April.

"They're burning schools, and in fact they've attacked 43 in our sector ever since school started here in Afghanistan in late March," said Schloesser, who heads the American operation in eastern Afghanistan. "And they are also killing teachers and they are killing students."

The militants, which include Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, easily glide between the Pakistan and Afghan borders. For the first time last month, the monthly death toll of U.S. troops in Afghanistan was greater than the number of troops killed in Iraq.

Schloesser explained that the insurgents seem to be making a special effort to target district centers--an equivalent of a county government center. Since March, there have been 28 attacks in 16 separate district centers throughout the eastern swath of the country.

"They're attacking road development projects, because they know that where the roads...start is where governance and development actually takes place," Schloesser said. "They're basically trying to kill survey crews, road construction crews, including Afghan laborers that are being paid to basically just build the roads and all they're really trying to do is feed their families. What I would say is, is that overall what you're seeing is, is the deliberate targeting of anything that will improve the quality of life for the normal Afghan citizen."

by Jill Zuckman

As if the extended presidential campaign weren't enough of a giant road trip, Sen. John McCain will take his show south of the border next week during the Fourth of July Congressional recess.

McCain will travel to Colombia and Mexico with best buddies (and Senators), Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman. The trio will meet with the presidents of each country, as well as Cabinet members, foreign ministers and law enforcement officials.

Topics for discussion include the Colombia Free Trade agreement, which is supported by McCain and opposed by Sen. Barack Obama, as well as drug interdiction efforts in both countries.

McCain leaves for Colombia on Tuesday and returns to the U.S. on Thursday in time for the holiday weekend.

by Mark Silva

"Obama art'' is popping up all over.

So report our colleagues at amNewYork.com

And they have some pictures to prove it, courtesy of a "citizen-blogger'' who has done a little pop-art collecting:

 The sew-on caricature of Obama is the street-artists' answer to a flag pin.

 The window-pane Warhol-esque images of Obama are reminiscent of a certain brand (Pepsi)

 "Cambio,'' or change, is the catchwork in some of this pop art.

See more of the images at amNewYork.com

by James Oliphant

Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge, a national co-chair of John McCain's campaign, failed to properly disclose he was working on behalf of the Albanian government, a Washington newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported that Ridge, who formed a strategic consulting company after leaving government, signed a $500,000 lobbying contract with Albania in 2006 but didn't file required documents about the deal until this month.

Ridge isn't a registered lobbyist and said he didnt disclose the relationship until his lawyer advised him to do so, although his work on behalf of Albania had been previously reported.

Under federal law, anyone acting as an agent for a foreign government to lobby must register with the Justice Department within 10 days of the agreement and file regular reports on work performed and monies recieved.

Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor, represented Albania from October 2006 through the end of August 2007 on issues ranging from homeland security to NATO membership, the story by Roll Call's Anna Palmer says.

"Sen. McCain is not aware of the exact circumstances of Gov. Ridge's work as a lobbyist for Albania, an important European ally to this country, in 2006 and 2007," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement to the newspaper.

"However, the governor is in full compliance with the McCain campaign's lobbying policy, which requires that part-time volunteers disclose current lobbying work and agree not to lobby John McCain or his staff on those issues or participate in campaign policy making on that subject," Bounds said.

Here is a link to the story. (Subscription required.)

by Matthew Hay Brown

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today defended a California Democrat facing ethics questions over her personal finances, while appearing to downplay his involvement in a fundraiser for her this week.

Rep. Laura Richardson's Sacramento house was sold in a foreclosure last month, according to news reports, and she has gone into default on properties in San Pedro and Long Beach. She still owed $9,000 in county taxes on the Sacramento house.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that in 1995 Richardson stiffed a local mechanic on a $735 bill to repair her heavily damaged BMW, and then had it towed to another body shop and abandoned it. Then a member of the Long Beach City Council, she began using a city-owned car, according to the Press-Telegram, which she continued to drive for five days after joining the California State Assembly.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate.

Hoyer, known in political circles as a prodigious fundraiser, is hosting a Capitol Hill event on Wednesday to help Richardson retire her campaign debt.

"I agree to do, to be on the invitations, of many of our members, including Congresswoman Richardson," the Maryland Democrat told reporters today during his weekly pen and pad session. "Congresswoman Richardson has not been, there is no wrongdoing that I know of, of which she has been alleged to have committed. ...

by Michael Muskal of the Los Angeles Times

Former President Bill Clinton, whose comments during his wife's unsuccessful presidential campaign angered the Barack Obama camp, announced his support for the Illinois senator's candidacy for president this morning.

"President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do, to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," according to a statement from his office.

During the primary campaign, as Obama emerged as the strongest challenger to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, her husband questioned Obama's opposition to the Iraq war and whether he had enough experience to lead the country.

But it was on race that Bill Clinton and Obama had their harshest confrontations. Clinton seemed to minimize Obama's victory in South Carolina by noting that Jesse Jackson also won there because of the sizable African American vote.

At one debate, Obama snapped at Hillary Clinton, "I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes."

The backing of the former president comes as the campaign prepares for the first joint appearance by Obama and Hillary Clinton, set for Friday in Unity, N.H. But Bill Clinton won't be there, nor is it clear what the Obama camp will ask him to do.

Still, the Obama camp accepted the former president's backing.

"A unified Democratic Party is going to be a powerful force for change this year, and we're confident President Clinton will play a big role in that," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said this morning by e-mail.

by James Oliphant

The Federal Election Commission remains powerless as Democrats and Republicans escalated a war of words Tuesday about which side is trying to sabotage the toothless agency.

A bipartisan slate of four nominees--necessary for the FEC to have a quorum--is awaiting confirmation by the full Senate. On the Senate floor this morning, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tried to bring the matter to a vote, but was blocked by majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who said that Sen. Russ Feingold, a campaign finance reform advocate, had asked to meet with the nominees personally.

Reid said he hoped the nominees could be voted on Tuesday afternoon. But McConnell's office accused Reid of stalling to try and aid a lawsuit the Democratic National Committee has filed against John McCain's campaign over alleged election law violations.

"Now we have the opportunity to confirm a full complement and there have been various efforts, it appears, to delay in order to give the DNC an opportunity to file a lawsuit today," McConnell said. "Now maybe I'll be proven wrong. Maybe they won't file that lawsuit and then I'll feel comforted that the effort to delay confirming all six--well, there are four additional FEC members that we're confirming--was not somehow related to litigation being proposed by the DNC. So I hope they won't file that lawsuit today. I guess that'll be the best evidence of whether there was an effort underway here to delay it."

And that suit was, indeed, filed this morning.