NEW YORK (CNN) -- Russia invades Georgia and President Bush goes on vacation. Our president has spent one-third of his entire two terms in office either at Camp David, Maryland, or at Crawford, Texas, on vacation.
His time away from the Oval Office included the month leading up to 9/11, when there were signs Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America, and the time Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans.
Sen. John McCain takes weekends off and limits his campaign events to one a day. He made an exception for the religious forum on Saturday at Saddleback Church in Southern California.
I think he made a big mistake. When he was invited last spring to attend a discussion of the role of faith in his life with Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, McCain didn't bother to show up. Now I know why.
It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. "It means I'm saved and forgiven." Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries. McCain then retold a story we've all heard a hundred times about a guard in Vietnam drawing a cross in the sand.
Asked about his greatest moral failure, he cited his first marriage, which ended in divorce. While saying it was his greatest moral failing, he offered nothing in the way of explanation. Why not? ….continue reading
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Passionate Politician, Dies At 58
By Stephen Koff and Sabrina Eaton
Stephanie Tubbs Jones came to Congress nearly 10 years ago as a little-known Democrat from Cleveland who had to fill the big shoes of a near-legend, Louis Stokes.
But when news of her fatal brain aneurysm spread from Ohio to the nation's capital Wednesday, Tubbs Jones' reputation was well-established: tough, exuberant, passionate, partisan, a woman from modest means who rose to national prominence.
President Bush, whose policies Tubbs Jones criticized, said he was saddened by her death.
"Our nation is grateful for her service," he said, citing her work in "helping small businesses, improving local schools, expanding job opportunities for Ohioans, and ensuring that more of them have access to health care."
Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose presidential candidacy Tubbs Jones had embraced, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, recalled Tubbs Jones as "one of a kind" and "unwavering, indefatigable."
Barack Obama, whom Tubbs Jones had expected to see nominated next week as the first African-American presidential candidate of a major party, called her "an extraordinary American and an outstanding public servant." ….continue reading
In Raleigh, Obama Amplifies Attacks
By Rob Christensen
RALEIGH - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama sharpened his message Tuesday night in Raleigh, seeking to tie the nation's troubled economy around the neck of his Republican opponent, John McCain.
Obama said the middle class is struggling, that housing foreclosures are the highest since the Great Depression and that gas prices are too high.
"Raise your hands," Obama said. "How many people think you are better off than you were eight years ago?"
There was a chorus of boos from the 2,500 people at the Exposition Center at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. No hands were raised.
Obama's North Carolina appearance came at a critical juncture. Obama is set to name his vice presidential choice during the next several days and is preparing for his nominating convention next week, when Democrats gather in Denver. ….continue reading
Senator Obama answering a question during a Town Hall Meeting in Raleigh on Wednesday, August 20, 2008. The presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee spent the day in Va. and N.C.
Obama Shifts Message To Everyday Concerns
By Katherine Q. Seelye
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Senator Barack Obama has sharpened his stump speech, delivering a more populist message that further highlights his differences with Senator John McCain, particularly on the economy.
Since he returned from vacation in Hawaii last week, Mr. Obama has intensified his focus on the economic pressures facing everyday Americans and portrayed Mr. McCain as an active participant in the policies of the last eight years, saying they have left more people behind.
Instead of focusing on the promise of sweeping change that propelled him to the nomination, Mr. Obama this week has been echoing Bill Clinton's 1992 promise to "fight for you every single day." The tightened message is part of a continuing effort since the primaries to bring his oratory down to a more human scale.
It also coincides with Mr. Obama's slip in public opinion polls, with some, including the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, putting him and Mr. McCain neck and neck.
"I'm not saying every job is going to come back to Martinsville just because I'm elected president; I'm not saying that suddenly all the schools are going to be fixed," Mr. Obama said at an event earlier Wednesday with 350 people at Patrick Henry Community College, about 60 miles southwest of here. ….continue reading
Shaheen, Allen Get Convention Speaking Slots
By Foon Rhee
Democratic challengers for US Senate seats in Maine and New Hampshire will speak next Wednesday on the third night of the national convention, organizers announced tonight.
Jeanne Shaheen, the former Granite State governor who is trying to oust Republican John Sununu, is on the speaker list, as is Tom Allen, who is trying to unseat Susan Collins. They will precede the vice presidential nominee.
Exiting Iraq, Petraeus Says Gains Are Fragile
Democrats are trying to build their majority in the Senate to at least 60 seats, which would be enough to overcome Republican filibusters and push through bills.
"For too long, families in New Hampshire and across the country have struggled as Washington has put the needs of special interests ahead of the needs of middle class families. Well, it is time for a change," Shaheen said in a statement. "This November, we are going to take our country in a new direction by standing up and fighting for the middle class again. If we want a new direction in Washington, we need real change this fall." ….continue reading
By Dexter Filkins
BAGHDAD -- In the final days of his campaign to bring Iraq under control, Gen. David H. Petraeus sat in his office at the American Embassy here looking drawn, exhausted, and more than a few years older than when he took command 18 months ago.
More than once as he spoke of his tenure, the general stopped to cough. An intensely energetic man who prides himself on besting young recruits in tests of strength and endurance, General Petraeus, 55, said Monday that he had been forced to scale back his punishing daily workouts to three a week.
"There is not much in the tank at the end of the day," he said.
Yet for all the signs of fatigue, General Petraeus is preparing to leave Iraq a remarkably safer place than it was when he arrived. ….continue reading
Democrats To Study 'Changes' To Caucus System
By Ed Tibbets
QUAD CITIES, Iowa. - A new commission is being set up to study the Democratic Party's presidential nominating system, including the caucuses.
Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee made the announcement Wednesday. The panel is being called the "Democratic Change Commission." ….continue reading
Arnie Arnesen To Be Speaker At Meeting Of Laconia Democrats
LACONIA - The Laconia Democratic Party will be welcoming Arnie Arnesen as its guest speaker at this month's meeting to be held at Woodland Heights Elementary School at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 21.
"We're thrilled that Arnie has agreed to speak with us and with the community about issues that affect our families today and will confront us in the future," said Ron Tunning, chair of the Laconia Democratic Party. "She is always a reliable advocate for policies that support Granite State families and reward the efforts of our hard working people."
According to Tunning, Arnesen will be focusing her discussion on jobs and the economy, particularly how the growing trend of outsourcing jobs and relying more heavily upon contract labor is impacting the traditional employee-employer role. "Arnie questions how this rapidly evolving corporate model is going to impact our families and economy over the long term," Tunning explained. "It really does represent a dramatic shift from a responsibility shared by employers and employees to one that places all of the burden on employees." ….continue reading
Arnie Arnesen, former NH Gubernatorial candidate and current host of "Political Chowder".
