Stories related to: bipartisanship

With Barack Obama and John McCain continuing to roll out bipartisan rhetoric, this election may soon see the return of the political center, the Wall Street Journal reports. More voters are also registering as independents, and Internet donations from ordinary citizens make pols less beholden to special interests on the right or left. More »

A long-suffering bill outlawing genetic discrimination by health insurers and in the workplace sailed through the House today, and President Bush has pledged to sign it into law, Reuters reports. The bill, forms of which have kicked around Washington for 13 years, forbids insurers from denying coverage based on genetic tests, and employers from using genetic information in job decisions. More »

Barack Obama’s unconventional personal background contrasts sharply with the roots of his political instincts and career. In Chicago's patronage-happy system, the young pol learned to break bread with conservatives, play to the black masses, and even get his back up when necessary. The Wall Street Journal examines the candidate’s years in Chicago. More »

John McCain is planning a tour to visit core Democratic constituencies—inner cities, Appalachia, the black South—in what John Dickerson, in Slate, sees not as a direct appeal for votes, but rather a campaign to beam his authenticity, via the media, to the country’s independents. A McCain advisor says informal settings will allow citizens to “praise, chastise and argue with him.” More »

Lawmakers are suddenly coming together on housing, with Republicans supporting a bill they left for dead two weeks ago, and Democrats cooling the political rhetoric for a change. The difference: those two weeks were spent back home with constituents, Politico notes. “Unless every member of the Senate was in a cave over recess, it’s clear that gas prices and housing were the most important issues,” said GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson. More »

The former legal counsel to Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush is siding with Barack Obama, calling the Democrat “a person of integrity, intelligence and good will.” Doug Kmiec disagrees with the candidate on gay marriage, abortion, states’ rights, and the place of religion in the public sphere, but he says Obama’s ability to engage opposing viewpoints won him over. More »

Barack Obama “urgently needs to come up with a new speech,” Washington Post op-ed columnist Eugene Robinson writes: He must tap white working-class voters to win the nomination. "Obama managed to escape the danger of being pigeonholed as a 'black candidate,'" Robinson writes. “Now he has to avoid being pigeonholed as some kind of elitist smarty-pants.” More »

Barack Obama has opened up a lead of 16 points over Hillary Clinton among voters nationwide and is seen as the candidate with the best chance to beat John McCain, according to a new poll from CBS and the New York Times . Obama had a lead of 54% to 38% in the poll, which had the candidates tied at 41% three weeks ago, CBS reports. More »

Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed John McCain for the GOP nomination today at a Los Angeles solar energy company, calling his fellow Westerner a hero and a great American. Standing beside the candidate and new Mac backer Rudy Giuliani, Arnie stressed their shared concern over climate change, and praised McCain as “a crusader to end wasteful spending in Washington, a crusader to simultaneously protect the environment and stimulate the economy.” More »

President Bush pushed his fiscal stimulus plan with lawmakers today and vowed the bipartisan group will find "common ground," the Washington Post reports. The economic boost—which he set at $150 billion—will not kick in overnight, he warned, but said congressional leaders must reach an accord in 3 weeks. That means checks would reach taxpayers and businesses in 5 or 6 months, analysts say. More »

A partisan split over health care will likely stall all attempts at reform, at least until a new president takes office next year, the AP reports. Bush's health secretary, Mike Leavitt, opposes Dem ideas about negotiating drug prices and boosting dollars for children's care. “I’m not expecting too much cooperation or bipartisanship,” said Texas GOP Rep. Joe Barton. More »

After a long battle, the Senate today approved a new measure expanding federal hate-crime laws to cover violence motivated by a victim's sexuality, gender identity, gender, or disability. In an attempt to stymie President Bush's threat to veto the legislation, the measure was attached to a defense authorization bill—which no president has ever vetoed, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »

President Bush threatened to veto a children's health insurance bill today, knocking Democrats he said were politicizing the issue by moving too far toward universal health care. The Senate last month passed an expanded "S-chip" program that would cover an additional 4 million children currently uninsured, the New York Times reports. The expanded program would require an additional $35 billion. More »