ANALYSIS
Candidates seem certain to pay for aisle-crossing tickets
Politico Jul 18, 08 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser)
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With talk that John McCain and Barack Obama could pick Joe Lieberman and Chuck Hagel, respectively, to round out their tickets, liberal and conservative stalwarts tell Politico the aisle-crossing VPs would likely wreak havoc with the parties’ bases. While each has broken with his party on Iraq, Lieberman is far too socially liberal for Republicans, Hagel too far right for Democrats.
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After favoring a national norm, candidate says states should decide
Detroit News Jul 18, 08 3:37 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain seemed to flip-flop on auto-emissions standards today, telling a group of General Motors engineers he supported states’ rights to set their own levels, the Detroit News reports. McCain told the newspaper last month he supported a nationwide standard. Automakers support a national standard because they fear the expense of catering to different restrictions in different states.
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Independents, however, appear to be losing interest in the election altogether
Boston Globe Jul 18, 08 2:52 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A new AP/Yahoo poll shows a bounty of enthusiasm for Barack Obama and a deficit for John McCain, the Boston Globe reports. Some key stats: 38% of the Democrat’s supporters are excited by the election, while only 9% of the Republican's are. Among Obama supporters, 16% say they could still change their pick, while 24% of McCain-backers say so.
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Rape 'joke' turns spotlight on candidate's sense of humor
Politico Jul 18, 08 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser)
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This week's flap over a rape joke John McCain reportedly made 22 years ago inspired Politico to recall the candidate's checkered history of telling jokes. Some examples: A quip about why then-18-year-old Chelsea Clinton was "so ugly.” Calling a young man who asked about his age “you little jerk" and adding, "You’re drafted!”
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analysis
Obama's pledged trip to Baghdad likely won't change his mind
Washington Post Jul 18, 08 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Lawmakers have been flocking to Iraq to assess the situation on the ground, as Barack Obama is about to do, but the visits rarely result in any revelations for them, writes Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post . The itineraries are fairly routine by now—meet the generals, the troops, and some Iraqi leaders; maybe visit the front lines—and "most seem to return even more convinced of the views they held before they left."
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OPINION
It's necessary, and McCain is better suited for the job: Brooks
New York Times Jul 18, 08 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
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With daunting issues demanding immediate action—energy, the markets, and crumbling infrastructure to name but a few—the US is about to enter a phase of "government activism," writes David Brooks in the New York Times . Bad news for John McCain, right? Maybe not. As past periods of great change show, it is more often the conservatives leading the way in such eras .
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OPINION
Former Chamber of Commerce honcho has had enough foreign policy disaster
New York Daily News Jul 17, 08 7:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Being a Reagan, Gingrich and Dole soldier won’t stop former Chamber of Commerce honcho Larry Hunter from voting for Barack Obama this fall, he writes in the New York Daily News . It doesn’t matter that he wholly disagrees with the Dem on every point of domestic policy; the chance to close the book on “unjustified war and unconstitutional abridgment of individual rights” is worth the price of “unreconstructed, dyed-in-the-wool, big-government” liberalism.
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Dem malcontents pledge 'maybe millions' of votes for McCain
Wall Street Journal Jul 17, 08 2:53 PM CDT
(Newser)
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About 25 disgruntled Hillary Clinton donors met Tuesday with a top adviser to John McCain, and promised “hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of votes” for the Republican—if their conditions were met. Carly Fiorina said the women she met in New York were “intensely uncomfortable with the notion of a President Obama,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
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OPINION
Bush has 'lowered my standards'
New Republic Jul 17, 08 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser)
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“What can I say?” writes left-leaning Jonathan Chait in revealing his continued affection for John McCain. “Bush has lowered my standards.” Remember, McCain was once “the country’s foremost progressive champion”—battling the religious right and tax cuts while pushing immigration and anti-global warming advances. And while the old McCain is gone—having tacked hard to the right—Chait clings to an “affinity for the old codger.”
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ANALYSIS
The two men have hated, helped each other
Time Jul 17, 08 12:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
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When George Bush denied involvement in infamous smears that ended John McCain's 2000 presidential bid, the feisty senator barked, “Don’t give me that shit. And take your hands off me.” But just 4 years later he gave the somber president a pre-debate pep talk: “You’re gonna be great.” The relationship between the two men has been a rollercoaster of bitter fighting and support, David Carney writes, detailing some of the unknown episodes in Time .
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Time Jul 17, 08 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Al Gore is challenging the US to produce all its electricity through wind, sun, and other clean sources by 2018. Speaking to the AP ahead of a major address today, the Nobel laureate compared the goal to JFK’s 1961 pledge to make it to the moon—and said that both Barack Obama and John McCain are “way ahead” of most politicians on the climate change issue.
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