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Palm Beach Post
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Aug 6, 08 4:34 PM CDT
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Barack Obama's campaign will run an energy-themed ad on TVs on Florida gas pumps starting today, the Palm Beach Post reports. The commercial highlights alternative-energy research and tax cuts as parts of Obama's plan to "break the grip of foreign oil," while presenting John McCain as more of the status quo.
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Associated Press
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Aug 6, 08 2:54 PM CDT
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Tim Pawlenty, the Republican governor of Minnesota often mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain, urged GOP candidates to act more like Democrat Barack Obama. "Say what you will about Barack Obama," Pawlenty said today, "people gravitate when you have something positive to say. … People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders. They don't want to follow some negative, scornful person."
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Washington Post
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Aug 6, 08 10:31 AM CDT
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It might as well be a mathematical formula: High gas prices + oncoming election = stupid policy, writes Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post. John McCain, once the possessor of a sensible energy plan, now screeches incessantly about outer-continental shelf drilling, as though this would instantly solve the energy crisis. Barack Obama, who once earned plaudits for resisting McCain and Hillary Clinton's gimmicky gas tax holiday, now wants to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an even costlier gimmick.
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Politico
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Aug 6, 08 8:43 AM CDT
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As both presidential candidates hurl accusations of backtracking and hypocrisy at each other, Politico and PolitiFact team up to explain the five most important flip-flops of the race so far. PolitiFact rates Obama’s stance on tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a “full flop,” citing strong prior opposition. McCain’s take on offshore drilling is rated a “half-flip,” taking into account his shift from a states’ rights position to staunch advocacy.
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New York Times
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Aug 6, 08 7:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Why is John McCain, "a man who prides himself on honor," taking the low road in his campaign against Barack Obama? For Maureen Dowd, the reason is clear: the Arizona senator is "pea-green with envy." Even more than Bill Clinton or Jesse Jackson, McCain can't stand that a younger, more handsome politician has usurped his place and become the "new wunderkind in town."
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ABC News
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Aug 5, 08 9:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Paris Hilton says she’s “like, totally ready to lead” in her video response to John McCain—the "wrinkly, white-haired guy"—for his ad comparing Barack Obama to tabloid celebrities like herself, ABC News reports. In the deadpan video posted on funnyordie.com, the heiress figures she's now a candidate herself and explains her serious-sounding energy policy while reclining in a lawn chair in her bathing suit. “I’ll see you at the debates, bitches,” she says. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go pick out a vice president.”
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Advertising Age
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Aug 5, 08 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Athletes won’t be the only competitors when the Beijing Olympics open Friday, Advertising Age reports: John McCain’s campaign made a last-minute, $6 million ad buy with NBC, topping the whopping $5 million Democratic opponent Barack Obama is spending. The large national scope of the advertising blitz is a rarity in recent presidential campaigns.
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Politico
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Aug 5, 08 12:23 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Democratic primary battle ended months ago, but many in both Hillary and Bill Clinton’s circles still harbor a grudge over the way her campaign was painted as racist, Ben Smith writes in Politico. This ill will is coming back to haunt presumptive nominee Barack Obama as he grapples with the McCain campaign's suggestion he is now playing the race card.
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New York Times
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Aug 5, 08 11:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite an enormous fan base and adoration from around the globe, Barack Obama remains only a few points ahead of John McCain in polls. New York Times columnist David Brooks speculates that that's because he too often “stands apart” from others. His perapatetic childhood and multi-ethnic family gave him an outsider sensibility that keeps him from fully engaging in any of the institutions Obama has moved through, from law school to the Illinois state legislature to the US Senate.
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Politico
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Aug 4, 08 6:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain’s campaign debuted another Barack Obama gag today as aides distributed tire gauges labeled “Obama Energy Plan” to reporters and donors, Politico reports. The campaign is mocking the Democrat’s suggestion that motorists increase gas mileage by keeping their tires full. The Obama campaign responded by pointing out that many prominent Republicans have spoken out in favor of minding tire pressure.
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Boston Globe
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Aug 4, 08 4:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It's vacation time for the presidential candidates before the grueling run-up to the November elections, but hours at the beach can be as politically disastrous as time spent on the campaign trail, reports the Boston Globe . Summer vacations can bring out a candidate's taste for unhip outfits and awkwardly luxurious accommodations.
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Washington Post
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Aug 4, 08 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Buoyed by recent Democratic gains in Virginia and President Bush's unpopularity, Barack Obama is taking aim at the once reliably red stronghold, the Washington Post reports. John McCain’s campaign is optimistic that he will carry the state, which Bush won twice by wide margins, but a top adviser cautions that even though the state has gone Republican since 1964, you can’t just “add water every 4 years.”
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Politico
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Aug 4, 08 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain probably will let Barack Obama make his vice-presidential pick before he does, Politico reports. GOP strategists hope that by making his announcement after Obama’s convention acceptance speech, McCain will be able to shift media focus toward his own campaign, as well as playing off the Democratic pick. "If they go first, you have more information," says an adviser.
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CNN
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Aug 4, 08 11:49 AM CDT
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Barack Obama called for a release of some of the strategic petroleum reserve today, dubbing the current energy crisis “one of the most dangerous and urgent threats this nation has ever faced.” Campaigning in Michigan, Obama outlined his energy plan, which he says will create 5 million “green” jobs, and eliminate dependence on foreign oil by fostering alternative fuels.
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Washington Post
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Aug 4, 08 10:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Low-income workers favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a whopping 2 to 1 margin, a new Washington Post poll shows, but they doubt that Obama or any other politician will improve their lives. Obama owes much of his edge to overwhelming support from black and Hispanic voters, but even among whites he holds a 47%-37% lead, contradicting the popular perception that he will struggle in that demographic.
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New York Times
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Aug 4, 08 10:01 AM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain’s campaign is divided when it comes to a running mate, and William Kristol speculates in the New York Times about the four strategies being discussed: Defeat Obama straight up —If McCain thinks he’s winning, he’ll pick a “do no harm” widely-liked, uncontroversial running mate, like Tim Pawlenty or Rob Portman. Accentuate Obama's inexperience —Here McCain would pick a tested governor, like Mitt Romney or Tom Ridge. McCain likes Ridge more, but the ex-Pennsylvania governor is pro-choice.