Stories related to: Barack Obama

Three former heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including President Bush appointee William Donaldson, will endorse Barack Obama today, joining with former Fed chair Paul Volcker to say the candidate will take a “reasoned approach” to “balanced regulatory reform.” Donaldson said he was especially impressed by Obama’s recent comment that he would overhaul regulations for any business that borrows from government. More »

Barack Obama may have the nomination all but wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean his electoral problems are over, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times —and feigning indifference that the Mountain State gave him a raspberry last night isn't a winning strategy. If Obama wants to capture these West Virginians in November, he’ll have to fight for them,  the way JFK did "despite raging anti-Catholicism." More »

Barack Obama's West Virginia loss by a whopping 30 points probably won’t cost him the Democratic nomination, writes John Dickerson in Slate. But the loss does put a chink in Obama’s argument that he can unite disparate groups, since, apparently, these powers have failed him among at least one key voting block—the blue-collar whites that are Hillary Clinton's base. More »

John McCain’s first post-primary ad declares him “the American president Americans have been waiting for," and the repetition tells all, Harold Meyerson writes in the Washington Post . Forget "strong," or "experienced," he notes. For the GOP, " ‘American’ is a term to be used as a wedge issue, a way to distinguish their more racially and religiously homogeneous party from the historically more polyglot Democrats.” More »

Barack Obama is feeling like a winner but unable to start campaigning like one, the New York Times reports. The almost-nominee can't go after John McCain the way he would if he had the nomination sewn up for fear of infuriating Hillary Clinton's supporters, aides say. He also is still unable to completely write off Clinton's challenge for the Democratic nomination. More »

The House and Senate voted today for a pause in deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to stem rising prices, the Los Angeles Times reports. The White House expressed skepticism about the measure, but the Senate backed it 97-1 and the House passed a similar bill 385-25. It is expected to be sent to Bush within days. More »

Hillary Clinton said tonight she is "more determined than ever" to continue her campaign for the White House after what she termed an "overwhelming" victory in West Virginia, NBC reports. "I believe I'm the strongest candidate," she told supporters in Charleston after romping in nearly all-white West Virginia. With the odds stacked against her and her campaign $20 million in debt, she again urged supporters to go to her website to contribute. More »

Early exit polls in West Virginia suggest that Democrats have much healing to do when the primary season ends, CNN reports. Only 25% of Hillary Clinton supporters said they would be satisfied if Barack Obama won the nomination, and only 38% of Obama supporters said they'd be satisfied with Clinton as the nominee. More telling, 36% of Clinton supporters said they would vote for Obama if he's the nominee, but 35% said they'd jump ship for John McCain. The economy was voters' No. 1 issue. More »

Volunteers in Barack Obama's campaign have had to steel themselves against racism on the trail, even as the White House hopeful has repeatedly played down the anti-black sentiment his candidacy has revealed. Though the campaign maintains its travels “only reinforced Sen. Obama’s view that this country is not as divided as our politics suggest,” the Washington Post finds many anecdotes to the contrary. More »

Hillary Clinton won a decisive—and expected—victory tonight in West Virginia, the Charleston Gazette reports. With 95% of returns in, Clinton led 67% to 26%, and her camp hopes a big margin of victory will raise new doubts in superdelegates' minds about Barack Obama's ability to win over white voters. The state is nearly all white and has a high percentage of the working-class voters that have eluded Obama during the primary season. More »

Abraham Lincoln’s modesty and Ronald Reagan’s warmth were evident in their handwriting. Now, the Los Angeles Times wants to know what analysts think of the strokes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain: Obama's writing is described as “fluid, graceful”; intelligent but also emotive. His words end in lines that reach out, a sign of flexibility—though a certain illegibility can be seen as subtly guarded. More »

Barack Obama won the support of five more delegates today, putting him within 145 total of clinching the nomination, by Huffington Post’s count. Obama's new backers include New Orleans' mayor, a former Democratic National Committee chair and the chairperson of DC’s Democrats. Obama also gained the support of an elected Hillary Clinton delegate from Maryland, a markedly rare switch of a pledged nominator. More »

Some analysts see today’s West Virginia primary as a final chance for Hillary Clinton to raise questions about Barack Obama’s weaknesses. Here’s what to watch, via Kenneth Vogel on Politico: How will Mason County go? The 30,000-strong district has been a remarkably reliable indicator of statewide results in the past. More »

Divisions among Democrats have killed the party’s presidential chances on more than one occasion, and it must not happen this time, writes George McGovern in the New York Times . The 1972 Democratic nominee—who recently switched his endorsement to Barack Obama—offers a plan to unite the party: Obama and Hillary Clinton should campaign side-by-side in the remaining states, outlining their plans for the country without attacking each other. More »

John McCain has already unveiled his campaign plan over the past few weeks, Michael Scherer reports in Time . Here's how it looks on paper: Pull Obama off his pedestal. Mac is not “blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country," he has said—unlike, no doubt, a certain someone. More »

Hillary Clinton and her supporters are canvassing heavily in West Virginia despite a 20-point lead and little competition, the Baltimore Sun reports. “We are all pretty inspired,” said one Clintonite on the eve of the state's primary. But Clinton and her family were the only politicos stumping across the Mountain State today: Barack Obama was MIA. More »

A new pastime rocking the Twitter-verse is to envision the many ways life will become perfect when Barack Obama wins the presidency, the Wall Street Journal reports. A few examples: When Obama wins... we will all shower in beer, and soap will be replaced by bacon . When Obama wins... Charlie Brown will finally kick that football. When Obama wins... people will stop making bad remixes of Billy Jean . More »

The long-tern effect of John Edwards’ early exit is that Barack Obama will wrap up the nomination by early June, a grateful Steve Kornacki writes in the New York Observer . A  slower withdrawal would have spelled trouble for the Democrats, who are having enough trouble making up their minds. "Imagine the comparative mess Democrats might be in if Edwards had opted to stick around," says Kornacki, who dissects the numbers. More »

With Hillary Clinton’s chances of beating her rival all but shot, Ben Smith, on Politico, runs down the graceful and non-graceful ways to exit: Never say die: If Clinton can stomach shrinking coffers and departing supporters, she can bide time until the convention, ensuring that lightning hasn’t struck Barack Obama before she concedes. More »

Everyone knows Craigslist, but Craig himself is getting a little restless. Craig Newmark is spending more time and money on outside projects, the New York Times reports, even with his company in a high-profile tiff with eBay. Newmark, 55, says he spends half his time on customer-service issues, the other half on public-service projects and causes like Barack Obama's campaign. More »