In an appearance in the battleground state of Nevada yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama mocked Sen. John McCain's energy policies, particularly his call for more nuclear plants. The AP reports that Obama said in Las Vegas "that he would not take nuclear power 'off the table' as a possible energy option, but blasted John McCain's proposal to build dozens of new reactors in the U.S." Obama "said he supports increased research into nuclear waste storage and recycling, but could not endorse construction of new reactors until those concerns are resolved." The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that an underlying theme of Obama's attacks on McCain were the status of the federal government's Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility, which is opposed by Obama and most of Nevada's leaders, but backed by McCain.
The New York Times reported on its 'The Caucus' blog that McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers "accused Mr. Obama of being the 'Dr. No' of energy security in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday." Rogers "criticized Mr. Obama for 'saying no' to oil exploration, a summer gas tax holiday, expanded investment in nuclear energy and a $300 million incentive to build a better car battery - all proposals that Mr. McCain has floated recently. 'We think we're seeing a pattern here,' Mr. Rogers said."
The Los Angeles Times reports, "Buoyed by enthusiasm among Democrats and public concern over the economy," Sen. Barack Obama "has captured a sizable lead" over Sen. John McCain nationally, according to a new LA Times/Bloomberg poll. The poll shows Obama leading McCain 49%-37%, and if Libertarian Bob Barr and Green Party candidate Ralph Nader are included, Obama's lead expands to 48%-33%. Bloomberg News reports, "Voters continue to view McCain...as the more experienced candidate and trust him to fight the war on terror," while Obama holds "a 3-to-2 advantage on handling the economy" and on "his health-care and tax plans." The poll was conducted by Interviewing Services of America and surveyed 1,115 registered voters from June 19-23.
Gallup, Rasmussen Tracking Show Much Closer Race The Gallup presidential tracking poll, which surveyed 2,587 registered voters from June 21-23 shows Obama leading McCain 46%-43%. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll, which surveyed 3,000 voters from June 21-23, shows Obama leading McCain 46%-40%. Including leaners, Obama leads McCain 49%-44%.
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The Hill reports Sen. John McCain "holds important advantages in the states that decided recent presidential elections, despite the strong headwind Republicans face this November." Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire "show promise for Republicans hoping to hold the White House amid a housing crisis, record gas prices and the Iraq war." Sen. Barack Obama is "looking at the Southwest and traditionally strong Republican states such as Virginia," in part because he has the money to do so and in part "because he must." Among the advantages the Hill cites are McCain's strong appeal to fiscal conservatives, not much interested in social policy, in Michigan.
Obama Up 9 In Michigan A Public Policy Polling (D) survey of 573 likely Michigan voters taken June 21-22 shows Obama leading McCain 48%-39%.
Obama Edges McCain In Indiana A SurveyUSA automated poll of 627 likely Indiana voters taken June 21-23 shows Obama leading McCain 48%-47%.
Obama Up 3 In New Mexico A SurveyUSA automated poll of 539 likely New Mexico voters released June 24 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-46%. The poll also tests a number of potential vice presidential combinations. In general, McCain leads in these tests by 1 to 3 points, except when Obama is paired with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D); in those cases, Obama leads by at least 6 points.
ABC World News reported that Sen. Barack Obama "says his Christian faith will help him connect with white evangelicals, who traditionally vote Republican." But evangelical leader James Dobson "sent a clear message that no evangelical should be converted." Dobson was shown saying, "I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own world view, his own confused theology." Obama "told ABC News Dobson was misrepresenting his words." Obama said, "Either he didn't read the speech or he's just trying to score political points." The New York Times reports "just days after" Obama "met quietly with religious leaders, including the son of the Rev. Billy Graham, another of the evangelical movement's most prominent names," Dobson, "has sharply attacked Mr. Obama, accusing him of having 'a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution' and twisting the meaning of both the Old and New Testaments." Obama on Tuesday "accused Mr. Dobson of reducing a complex subject to sound bites."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that Sen. John McCain "pledged yesterday that he would make the federal government more environmentally friendly," while Sen. Barack Obama "mocked his rival as crafting energy policies that merely pander to voters." Speaking in Santa Barbara, Calif., McCain "vowed to 'put the purchasing power of the United States government on the side of green technology' by buying fuel-efficient vehicles for its civilian fleet of cars and trucks and by retrofitting federal office space." The AP adds McCain also "called for a redesign of the national power grid so power is better distributed where it's needed and the country has the capacity to run electric vehicles that he wants automakers to supply." Fox News' Special Report adds Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "skipped a popular annual Golden State Sprayer Breakfast to campaign with McCain. Schwarzenegger opposes more oil drilling off California's coast but nonetheless praised McCain's overall energy and conservation approach."
The AP reports former President Clinton yesterday offered to help Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, "although what work he'll do for his wife's former rival remained uncertain." The Los Angeles Times reports Bill Clinton, "whose comments during his wife's unsuccessful presidential campaign angered the Barack Obama camp," issued a statement saying, "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."
Obama Encourages His Donors To Help Clinton Retire Campaign Debt The AP reports that Obama yesterday "asked his finance team to help Hillary Rodham Clinton pay off a debt of at least $10 million from her failed presidential campaign, setting the stage for joint appearances by the two former rivals later in the week." The New York Post reports that Obama "jumped in on a scheduled weekly national finance call with his donors and fund-raisers, and spoke about Clinton having 'acquired some debt to vendors' in her long, hard-fought campaign, a source said." The Washington Post adds that Clinton "ended May more than $22.5 million in debt, with the majority of that money owed to herself. ... Clinton will have a chance to return Obama's favor Thursday night, when she introduces Obama to her most generous supporters at the Mayflower Hotel."
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The AP reports this morning that Sen. Barack Obama "raised nearly $5 million Tuesday at a celebrity-packed fundraiser" in Los Angeles "that was the equivalent of the entertainment industry's coming-out party for" him. The Los Angeles Times reports, "Many in the Hollywood crowd -- which had been deeply split between Obama and Clinton during the primaries and caucuses -- said they hoped to send a strong message: that the industry A-listers, even those who had sided with Clinton during the primary, were standing firm with Obama."
Democrats continued to hit Sen. John McCain over aide Charlie Black's comment that a terror attack on the US would be beneficial to the McCain campaign because it would highlight the difference in experience between the two candidates. The Washington Post reports Sen. Barack Obama's campaign "dispatched Richard Ben-Veniste, a member of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, to hold a conference call with reporters in which he called Black's comments 'a candid and very disappointing glimpse into the thinking of one of McCain's closest advisers.'" In addition, the New York Daily News reports that Change To Win, an umbrella union group with some 6 million members that has backed Obama, called on McCain to fire Black. In a statement, the group said, "The memory of our workers and all Americans who died on 9/11 demands it." However, in a blog posting, The Politico reported that Ben-Veniste and Obama aide Denis McDonough "dodged a question about why Obama didn't speak up last year when Hillary Clinton said another terror attack would benefit the Republican nominee."
The AP reports this morning that Sen. John McCain "said Tuesday he wants to show his support for Colombia's anti-drug efforts and a pending free-trade agreement with the US by visiting the South American ally." Fox News' Special Report says McCain "announced a trip to Colombia and Mexico next week where he will blast what he calls" Sen. Barack Obama's "protectionist and isolationist trade policies." In a brief report, the Washington Post notes that South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (I), both considered long-shot VP choices, are scheduled to join McCain on the trip.
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ABC World News reported home prices, "as someone said today, have gone over a cliff. ... Nationwide, prices dropped more than 15% in April, compared to one year ago."
The AP reports, "Both the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price indices and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight index on Tuesday reported record year-over-year declines in April, a sobering signal that the housing slump not only is deepening, but also engulfing markets once above water." The 20-city index "dropped by 15.3 percent in April versus last year, while the narrower 10-city index plunged 16.3 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history."
USA Today says "home prices are poised to fall further in coming months, economists said Tuesday. ... The sharpest declines were 26.8% in Las Vegas and 26.7% in Miami." The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles area's April price decline "was worse than its March drop of 21.7% from the same month the previous year."
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports, "A plan to help thousands of troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure won overwhelming bipartisan support on a key test vote in the Senate yesterday, and supporters predicted that the measure would pass as soon as today." The Senate voted 83 to 9 "to consider authorizing the Federal Housing Administration to help troubled borrowers saddled with rapidly rising mortgage payments refinance into more affordable loans if their bankers agree to forgive a portion of their debt."
The AP notes, "Sill, conservative Democrats known as 'Blue Dogs' are concerned about how to pay for the measure, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus call it unacceptable, arguing it doesn't do enough to address the needs of black Americans. The New York Times reports White House press secretary Dana Perino "softened some of the Bush administration's criticism. 'We do think that there are some really good aspects of that Senate bill,' she said. Still, Ms. Perino reiterated the veto threat citing concern over a provision that would allocate nearly $4 billion in grants to communities with high foreclosure rates to buy and rehabilitate vacant properties."
The Washington Post reports, "Senior Justice Department officials broke civil service laws by rejecting scores of young applicants who had links to Democrats or liberal organizations, according to a biting report issued yesterday." According to the New York Times, "The shift began in 2002, when advisers to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft restructured the honors program in response to what some officials saw as a liberal tilt in recruiting young lawyers from elite law schools like Harvard and Yale. ... The shift appeared to accelerate in 2006, under then-Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, with two aides on the screening committee - Michael Elston and Esther Slater McDonald - singled out for particular criticism."
The Washington Times reports Kevin Olhson, deputy director of the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, "complained to investigators that a 'significant number' of the office's recommended candidates 'who could be construed as...left-wing' or who were 'perceived, based on their applications and resumes and so forth, as being more liberal' were rejected."
The Los Angeles Times adds that "in 2006, some applicants for sought-after jobs in the department's honors and summer intern programs were rejected because they were members of the American Constitution Society or Planned Parenthood or because they expressed concern about gender discrimination in the military, the report says."
The Wall Street Journal notes, "The report results from investigations begun last year after the department fired several US attorneys in 2006. Investigators are looking into myriad allegations, including whether senior officials misled Congress when questioned about the firings."
USA Today /Bloomberg News reports Attorney General Michael Mukasey, "said in a statement that he welcomed Tuesday's report and would follow its recommendations to ensure that ideology plays no further role in hiring at the department."
The Washington Post reports that a study from the Center on Education Policy released yesterday reports "that nationwide, students math and science test scores have improved since passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, notably among black and low-income students, relative to their peers. However, the report's authors "cautioned that the boost could not be attributed directly to the federal law and said the improvements also might reflect state and local reforms."
USA Today editorializes that despite criticism of NCLB from politicians and education stakeholders, the "standards-and-accountability movement appears to be working. A new, 50-state report on the law's impact by the Center on Education Policy, a non-partisan think tank, found reading and math scores rising and minority achievement gaps narrowing."
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The AP reports President Bush's "appearance at a Republican National Committee reception Tuesday boosted his fundraising total for the year to about $66 million." More than "100 people attended the evening fundraiser" in McLean, "which raised $750,000 for the RNC."
The AP reports the Senate on Tuesday "confirmed five nominees for the Federal Election Commission, breaking a prolonged partisan logjam and allowing the agency to resume functioning." The nominees, it adds, "were confirmed without dissent after drawn-out talks" between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
The Washington Post reports, "Democrats blocked consideration of any replacements over objections to one of President Bush's choices, former Justice Department official Hans von Spakovsky, whom they accused of politicizing cases of voting rights." But the "logjam was broken last month when von Spakovsky withdrew his name from consideration."
The Wall Street Journal reports the Senate action "came with a final twist: Republicans accused Democrats of delaying the confirmation vote one day to allow the Democratic National Committee to file a lawsuit against the presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona." The Journal notes that the DNC "couldn't file the lawsuit until 120 days after submitting the complaint to the FEC and receiving no action on it. That 120-day deadline passed Tuesday. If the confirmation vote had come Monday, the commission could have acted immediately on the DNC complaint."
House passage of a Medicare bill preventing cuts in payments to doctors by a wide 355-59 margin received widespread attention in major US daily newspapers, but was not mentioned on the nightly network TV news programs. The large veto-proof margin was characterized as unexpected. The AP reports the bill is opposed by the Bush Administration and "the insurance industry. It had broad support from doctors, hospitals and pharmacists. A vote against the measure would have risked alienating those important constituencies just as lawmakers get ready to break for the July 4th recess." The bill now heads "to the Senate, where lawmakers were working behind the scenes Tuesday to craft a compromise that would gain the administration's support or generate enough votes to overcome a veto."
The Wall Street Journal reports the vote "set up a complicated endgame for Medicare legislation that is expected to play out in the next few days." The Hill reports the vote "is a victory for House Democrats, who dared Republicans to vote against it by taking it directly to the floor. This development also could strengthen the lower chamber's hand in any forthcoming negotiations with the Senate, which has not passed its own Medicare legislation." The Washington Post reports the White House has threatened a veto over reductions to the Medicare Advantage program arguing "a drop in payments to those insurers would result in reduced services and benefits, particularly for elderly patients in rural areas."
The AP reports the Bush administration "indicated Tuesday that it had no plans to interfere with negotiations between Iraq and several Western oil giants to boost crude production in that country." The Administration's position "puts it at odds" with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer, John Kerry and Claire McCaskill, "who warn that the deals could fan the perception that US involvement in Iraq was motivated by oil." Fox News' Special Report reported the White House yesterday "fought back against Democrats on the Hill who are arguing that the Iraqi government should not cut no-bid deals with western oil companies to develop its oil industry."
The CBS Evening News reported Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen "leaves tonight on an overseas trip that will take him to Israel. The trip has been scheduled for some time, but US officials say it comes just as the Israelis are mounting a full court press to get the Bush Administration to strike Iran's nuclear complex." Israel "doesn't want to wait for a new administration." Israel's "message is simple: If you don't, we will. Israel held a dress rehearsal for a strike earlier this month, but military analysts say Israel cannot do it alone." CBS adds, "For now, the Bush Administration is counting on new economic sanctions which took effect today to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program. But nobody's counting on it."
Former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, on Fox News' Your World was asked about his "prediction" that Israel will attack Iran after the US election in November. Bolton said, "If Israel decides to use military force -- I don't think they have come to a decision point yet, although I think they are considering it very seriously -- my theorization was on the timing if they decide to go. ... I think the Israelis for some time had counted on the possibility of the US using military force. But I think the Bush administration is not likely to do that."
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David Letterman: "How about this, ladies and gentlemen? Hillary Clinton is out campaigning with Barack Obama. ... She says if it goes well, she'll consider making him her running mate."
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