Election 2008

Hillary Says She Won't Drop; Obama Thinks That's OK

Washington Post  |  Mar 29, 08 9:06 PM CDT

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton insisted today that she will not drop out of the race early, and Barack Obama thinks that's just fine. Clinton told the Washington Post that she will compete in every primary, then take her fight to the convention in August if necessary. Could any scenario change her mind? "No," she said. In Pennsylvania, Obama said Clinton "can run as long as she wants,” AFP reports. More »

'Ugly, Divided' Party Will Lose, Dean Warns

New York Times  |  Mar 29, 08 6:22 PM CDT

(Newser) - Democrats continue to clash over the effects of a long and bitter primary race, the New York Times reports. "If we have an ugly, divided convention, we will lose" the November election, said Howard Dean, who has called on superdelegates to decide by July. But Hillary-backer Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa said, "We’ve become a bit too squeamish. I, for one, want my nominee to be battle tested.” More »

NDSU Prez Sorry About Obama Skit

In-Forum  |  Mar 29, 08 5:44 PM CDT

(Newser) - North Dakota State University apologized yesterday for a student skit that depicted Barack Obama in black face paint, the Forum reports. A white student in the sorority sketch wore makeup and an Afro wig to portray the hopeful; he received a lap dance while two students simulated sex and ripped an Obama sign in half. “The students’ actions were entirely unacceptable," said school president Joseph Chapman. More »

Clinton Supporters See Sexist Backlash

Wall Street Journal  |  Mar 29, 08 8:51 AM CDT

(Newser) - Many women who support Hillary Clinton—and even some who don't—find that the New York senator's bid for president has unleashed unsettling sexist hostility in the workplace and elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reports. A woman shouted at by a stranger for her Hillary bumper sticker says the "level of venom" always takes her by surprise. More »

Leahy Be Damned, Hillary Soldiers On

New York Times  |  Mar 29, 08 5:14 AM CDT

(Newser) - Citing the rights of voters to speak their piece and the “many differing opinions and strong-minded individuals” of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton yesterday reaffirmed her candidacy in the face of senator Patrick Leahy’s call for her end a campaign with “no very good reason” to continue and make way for Barack Obama, the New York Times reports. More »

Obama Inspires Caribbean Serenade

Miami Herald  |  Mar 28, 08 5:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - Barack Obama is inspiring tropical love songs, the Miami Herald reports, and the tunes—from Trinidad calypso king the Mighty Sparrow’s Barack the Magnificent to Jamaican reggae fixture Cocoa Tea’s Barak Obahama —are firing up YouTube. The songs are also a signal of the Illinois Democrat's popularity outside the US, particularly in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba. More »

That's Professor Obama to You

Politico  |  Mar 28, 08 4:28 PM CDT

(Newser) - Barack Obama was indeed a professor at the University of Chicago's law school, the school said today. The Clinton campaign and the Sun-Times have said otherwise, but academic semantics back the onetime senior lecturer. The university said that title did qualify Obama as a professor—and the law school had even offered him a tenure-track position. More »

Casey Nod Perfectly Timed, Placed

Washington Post  |  Mar 28, 08 3:21 PM CDT

(Newser) - The endorsement of Sen. Bob Casey will give Barack Obama aid right where he needs it, Shailagh Murray notes in the Washington Post —among Pennsylvania’s lower-income white men. So-called “Casey Democrats”—anti-abortion, pro-gun social conservatives—are the kind of voters Obama must prove he can sway April 22 in Pennsylvania, and nationwide in November. More »

Leahy to Clinton: You're Out

Vermont Public Radio  |  Mar 28, 08 2:45 PM CDT

(Newser) - Continued sniping with Hillary Clinton is hurting Barack Obama's chances of winning the White House, and "she ought to withdraw and she ought to be backing Senator Obama," Sen. Pat Leahy told Vermont Public Radio in an interview aired today. The harsh assessment coincided with a suggestion from another influential Vermonter, DNC chairman Howard Dean, that the superdelegates make their plans public by July 1. More »

Al Gore, Dems' Back-Up Plan

Time  |  Mar 28, 08 1:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - If the Democratic nomination isn’t wrapped up before August's convention, the party might have a third choice: the one they crowned in 2000. If Barack Obama is too bloodied and Hillary Clinton too divisive, Joe Klein writes in Time , a superdelegate coup could yield an Al Gore-Obama ticket on the spot. Of course, the party would have to be “monumentally desperate.” More »

Obama Takes Image Rehab to The View

CNN  |  Mar 28, 08 1:02 PM CDT

(Newser) - Barack Obama "wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church" had Jeremiah Wright not retired this year, he said today on The View. Obama reiterated his denunciation of his ex-pastor’s sermons, saying Wright had “deeply offended people,” CNN reports. He also told Barbara Walters & Co. that he’d spoken with Wright since the scandal erupted, and the preacher is “saddened by what’s happened.” More »

This Is Your Life, John McCain

USA Today  |  Mar 28, 08 11:49 AM CDT

(Newser) - John McCain will take a tour of his own biographical highlights, reports USA Today. His campaign intends the “Service to America” tour of schools and military installations to help the candidate define his brand before the Democrats do—and help offset a significant fundraising disparity. He will visit places that have “played a significant role in shaping who I am today," he told potential donors. More »

Clinton Boots Adviser for 'Crankpot' Line

Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Mar 28, 08 11:48 AM CDT

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has been forced to disown one of her advisers after he lashed out at the former leader of Northern Ireland in a television interview, writes the Telegraph . Jamie Rubin, who worked in the State Department under Bill Clinton, spoke out in reaction to comments from David Trimble that the candidate exaggerated her role in the peace process. Rubin called Lord Trimble a sexist, a "crankpot," and unreliable because he is a Protestant. More »

Pa. Senator to Endorse Obama

Politico  |  Mar 28, 08 9:05 AM CDT

(Newser) - Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey will endorse Barack Obama today, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, in what could be big break for the presidential hopeful who's been trailing Hillary Clinton in polls there. Not only can Casey help Obama with Keystone State Democrats, says Politico’s Ben Smith, but his endorsement could signal a superdelegate surge to Obama. Casey had vowed to stay neutral until after the April 22 primary. More »

Romney, McCain Join Forces