http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/ en Copyright 2008 Sun, 11 May 2008 13:48:38 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss By Zachary A. Goldfarb Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said it is likely Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) will be his party's nominee, and he warned Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) against hurting the party's chances in the fall by staying in the race. "I think it is likely, certainly, at this point, that Senator Obama will be the nominee," said Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and two-time presidential candidate. He added on CBS's "Face the Nation," "I think the one thing that [Clinton] has to be careful about ... is that, if she makes the case for herself, which she's completely entitled to do, she has to be really careful that she's not damaging our prospects, the Democratic Party, and our cause, for the fall." Edwards said Clinton has been making "a pretty compelling case for her candidacy," but "you can no longer make a compelling case for http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/11/edwards_obama_will_be_the_nomi.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/11/edwards_obama_will_be_the_nomi.html Sun, 11 May 2008 13:48:38 -0400 By Alec MacGillis BEND, Ore. -- After all the bowling and the shot-and-a-beer quaffing of the recent Rust Belt primaries, the upcoming Oregon contest is serving as a useful reminder of a fact that's been somewhat overlooked: not every swing voter in America wears a blue collar. Hillary Clinton's campaign has been arguing for several months that her strength with white working class Democrats would make her better positioned to win key states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan in November. And there is no doubt that Barack Obama has work to do in winning over this group of voters, though his campaign argues that many of them voters will remain in the Democratic fold come November. But the fixation on Rust Belt Reagan Democrats has given short shrift to another, and by some measures more numerous and pivotal, group of swing voters: middle and upper-middle income independents who jump from http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/11/obamas_independentminded_orego.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/11/obamas_independentminded_orego.html Sun, 11 May 2008 11:21:44 -0400 By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Juliet Eilperin The veteran political operative chosen by Sen. John McCain to run the Republican National Convention this summer abruptly resigned yesterday after Newsweek revealed that the lobbying and public relations firm he heads once represented the Burmese government. Doug Goodyear, the chief executive and co-founder of DCI Group, said in a statement that he resigned the post "so as not to become a distraction in this campaign." DCI, a well-known Republican firm that provides lobbying services mostly for corporate interests, was paid $348,000 in 2002 and 2003 to represent Burma's junta, Newsweek reported on its Web site yesterday. "It was our only foreign representation, it was for a short tenure, and it was six years ago," Newsweek quoted Goodyear as saying. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/mccains_convention_pick_quits.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/mccains_convention_pick_quits.html Sat, 10 May 2008 20:25:28 -0400 By Alec MacGillis BEND, Ore. -- Barack Obama was "east of the mountains" in central Oregon and far from Washington today when he at long last passed Hillary Clinton in the count of party insiders, or superdelegates, who support him. He picked up three more today, including one who switched from having backed her. Obama reacted to the marker with little fanfare, again stressing that the count that matters most to him is the pledged delegate tally in which he has led for months. "It's an encouraging sign that the campaign is making progress and the superdelegates are moving in our direction," he said at an outdoor press conference at an industrial park here, with snow-topped mountains behind him in the distance. For all his understatement about passing Clinton in the superdelegate count, he shifted further into general election mode today, using his visit to a solar energy inverter manufacturer http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/obama_passes_clinton_in_superd.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/obama_passes_clinton_in_superd.html Sat, 10 May 2008 20:14:18 -0400 By Perry Bacon Jr. NEW YORK -- Appearing with supporters at a fundraiser in New York City, Hillary Clinton finished her speech by imploring them: "Let's keep going. Stay with me. This has been a great adventure -- let's make history." At the same time, her speech held some hints that another Democratic candidate might be the one who makes that history. Running through a list of issues, such as the high cost of college, that the next president will need to fix, she said, "All of this is much bigger than my candidacy. It is really about what we're going to stand for and what agenda our next president will have." While Clinton again questioned how the "Democratic nominee" could be someone who in her view does not propose a universal health care program, she phrased the goal in a way that sounded like it could happen without the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/in_ny_clinton_makes_concession.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/in_ny_clinton_makes_concession.html Sat, 10 May 2008 20:01:46 -0400 By Garance Franke-Ruta Sen. Barack Obama may not yet be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, but Saturday morning his campaign launched in more than 100 other locations across the country a national voter registration drive intended to transform the electorate - or at least register more Democrats -- in advance of November's general election. Dozens of men and women - black, white, Asian and Latino - turned out to Busboys & Poets, a cafe cum bookstore in Arlington's Shirlington Village, to pick up voter registration packets and then head out to find new voters amid the strip malls and supermarkets of Northern Virginia, politically significant region and Obama stronghold. A lot could rest on their success: No president in modern times has won office without winning some Southern states. Virginia -- once a solidly conservative Southern state -- is now in political flux, thanks especially to rapid population changes in http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/obama_launches_50state_voter_r.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/obama_launches_50state_voter_r.html Sat, 10 May 2008 18:31:26 -0400 By Juliet Eilperin Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) comments about climate change Friday have sparked a flurry of speculation among national environmentalists, who are now optimistic the presumptive GOP nominee will vote next month for a bill limiting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. McCain didn't say for sure whether he would back the bill authored by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.), both of whom have campaigned actively for him on the trail. But he said they were coming closer to satisfying his concerns about the bill, which is slated for a vote in early June and does not boast the same generous subsidies for nuclear power as the bill McCain and Lieberman co-sponsored in the past. "I'm pleased in negotiations and discussion with Senator Lieberman that there will be a far more important nuclear component of this legislation that's going to be coming to the floor," McCain said http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/will_mccain_back_warming_bill.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/10/will_mccain_back_warming_bill.html Sat, 10 May 2008 14:37:02 -0400 By Glenn Kessler An informal Middle East adviser to Sen. Barack Obama's campaign resigned Friday after a newspaper reported on his regular meetings with members of the Hamas militant group. Rob Malley said he wanted to stop being a distraction for the campaign after facing attacks from the blogosphere for months for allegedly being anti-Israel, a charge he denies. Malley is a former National Security Council aide to President Bill Clinton who is now with the International Crisis Group, a nonpartisan conflict-resolution think tank. Malley's departure comes at a sensitive time for Obama, who appears to be nearing the Democratic nomination but has struggled to win the support of Jewish and pro-Israel voters. Hamas, which won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, refuses to recognize Israel and is dedicated to its destruction. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/obama_adviser_tied_to_hamas_me.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/obama_adviser_tied_to_hamas_me.html Fri, 09 May 2008 22:17:20 -0400 By Alec MacGillis WOODBURN, Ore. -- Even as Hillary Clinton continued to campaign against him, criticizing his health care plan, Barack Obama took another step this afternoon toward extending an olive branch toward her so that she could "feel good" about the outcome of a Democratic nominating process that his campaign hopes to soon bring to an orderly and amicable close. Asked by a reporter during a stop at a Mexican restaurant here whether he would be willing to use his huge war chest to help Clinton retire her campaign debts, as some have suggested, Obama demurred. "That's not a conversation that we've had because our working assumption right now is that we're in the middle of a race," he said, seeking as he did at an earlier stop in Beaverton to avoid seeming as if he is presuming victory. But, he added, "Historically after a campaign is done and http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/obama_extends_an_olive_branch.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/obama_extends_an_olive_branch.html Fri, 09 May 2008 18:20:55 -0400 Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our enhanced content. var thisObj = "flashobj050908X2v"; var so = new SWFObject("http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/wpniplayer_blog.swf", thisObj, "454", "305", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "always"); so.addParam("swfliveconnect", true); so.addVariable("thisObj", thisObj); so.addVariable("vid","050908-2v_title"); so.addVariable("playads", "yes"); so.addVariable("adserv",""); so.addVariable("autoStart", "no"); so.write("flashcontent050908X2v"); While campaigning in Fayetteville, W.Va., Bill Clinton argued with an audience member over claims made by Hillary Clinton that she improved health care during his administration. The exchange was quickly picked up on YouTube and various blogs. (Video by CBSNEWS.com) http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/bill_clinton_argues_with_w_wa.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/bill_clinton_argues_with_w_wa.html Video Report Fri, 09 May 2008 14:50:00 -0400 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., visits with patients during a campaign event at the Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore., May 9, 2008. (Associated Press) By Perry Bacon Jr. PORTLAND, Ore. -- While not naming Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton cast herself as the only candidate fighting to ensure health care for all Americans, arguing it was the one of the reasons her candidacy was so important. "The plan I have proposed would cover everyone, children and adults," Clinton said at a children's hospital here. "An artificial distinction between children and adults is unworkable, you have to have seamless health care system that covers every single American. My plan does, my opponent's doesn't." "This is a big difference in this campaign and really it's not a difference of politics so much as commitment," she said. "One of the reasons I wanted to run for president was to to http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/a_renewed_health_care_focus_fo.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/a_renewed_health_care_focus_fo.html Fri, 09 May 2008 14:33:39 -0400 Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), smiles during an interview taping with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, left, on "The Situation Room" in Washington, May 8, 2008. (Associated Press) By Dan Balz The political talk this week has been all about Hillary Clinton and the probable end to her campaign for the Democratic nomination. The real focus should be on Barack Obama and what his campaign for the nomination tells us about the kind of candidate he would be in a general election against John McCain. Obama's return to Capitol Hill on Thursday -- marked by a giddy reception from lawmakers and throngs of well wishers in attendance -- underscored the growing sense of inevitability that he will lead the Democrats into the fall. If uncommitted superdelegates are not moving to him in a rush right now, there is every indication that, once the June 3 primaries are wrapped up, the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/the_real_race_begins.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/the_real_race_begins.html Dan Balz's Take Fri, 09 May 2008 13:46:58 -0400 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., center, laughs while speaking with former Gov. Thomas Kean, R-N.J., left, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., at Liberty Science Center at Liberty State Park on May 9, 2008, in Jersey City, N.J. (Associated Press) Updated 5:00 p.m. By Juliet Eilperin JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Flanked by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean (R) and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) touted his environmental record in the Liberty Science Center. Competing with the shouts of more than 3,000 boisterous children touring the museum nearby, McCain said he would make global warming one of his top priorities if elected this fall. "As president, I will dedicate myself to addressing the issue of climate change globally," he said. "I think there's no doubt our environment globally is challenged, that our environment in this country is challenged." When questioned by a local reporter about http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/mccain_touts_environmental_rec.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/mccain_touts_environmental_rec.html Fri, 09 May 2008 13:26:38 -0400 By Darryl Fears There was yet another sign of racial disharmony in the Democratic Party today, as the leader of the influential black online advocacy group ColorOfChange.org lashed out at Hillary Clinton, calling her claim to owning the white, blue-collar vote "race baiting." "The politics of division now seems to be her core strategy" to overcome Barack Obama's lead in the primary, said James Rucker, a co-founder of ColorOfChange who once worked for the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org. "It's a strategy where everyone loses; we can do better and we should be able to expect better from Senator Clinton." ColorOfChange, which has 400,000 members and relies on a large network of black bloggers to spread its message, recently circulated a petition warning the Democratic party that adopting rules that would allow Clinton to overcome Obama's lead "could be the worst mistake the party has ever made." http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/colorofchange_leader_accuses_c.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/colorofchange_leader_accuses_c.html The Debate Rages On... Fri, 09 May 2008 12:44:56 -0400 Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks at a rally in an airport hanger in Sioux Falls, S.D., May 8, 2008. (Associated Press) By Perry Bacon Jr. PORTLAND, Ore. -- From Washington, D.C., to Portland and many places in between, Hillary Clinton is sending a clear message: She is still running to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. After landing in Washington after midnight on Wednesday morning, she embarked on a 48-hour tour, with stops in West Virginia, South Dakota and southern Oregon before her campaign plane landed in the northern end of this state in Portland after 3 a.m. Friday morning. "On June 3, Montana and South Dakota will have the last word," Clinton said at a rally at airport hangar in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Thursday afternoon. From the importance of female voters in the Democratic Party to the need for the party to http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/_portland_oregon_from_washingt.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/09/_portland_oregon_from_washingt.html Fri, 09 May 2008 12:01:10 -0400