Tue, April 15, 2008 - 11:11 AM

After Barack Obama’s comments characterizing small-town America as bitter, the candidates are showing of their street cred to prove who is more “in touch” with American voters.

The candidates – particularly the Democrats right now as they continue their battle for the nomination in Pennsylvania and Indiana - have been trying to look like they are one with the working-class people of America.

Hillary Clinton throws back a shot of whiskey. Obama bowls.

In reality, the Clintons made $20.4 million in 2007. According to the New York Times, they are in the top one-hundredth of 1 percent, or roughly 14,500, of all taxpayers.

Obama reported income of nearly $1 million in 2006.

John McCain has not released his tax returns. But it’s safe to say he does well for himself. His wife Cindy is an heiress to her father's stake in beer distributor Hensley & Co. Cindy McCain’s worth may exceed $100 million.

All three candidates are in the U.S. Senate, a body which is not exactly lauded for being in touch with common folk. And McCain has been there the longest – 22 years.

When Clinton boozes it up or Obama bowls, we’re supposed to say, “Look at that! They live just like I do!” But it always comes across as fake and elitist. The drinking and bowling got major play on television because it is rare to see them do these things, at least publicly. And yet for many Americans, that’s a Saturday night.

So are any of these candidates really in touch with the American voter?

-- Amy Dominello

Mon, April 14, 2008 - 3:28 PM

It turns out even journalists make mistakes.

Dean Singleton, the vice chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group Inc. and the chairman of AP, mistakenly said “Obama bin Laden” in asking Obama a question about the war on terrorism.

Obama quickly corrected him and said it’s just “part of the exercise I’ve been going through.”

Singleton was quick to apologize.

-- Amy Dominello

After his speech, Obama answered some questioned that had been submitted by editors and publishers.

Some of the highlights are below.

On whether Democrats can talk about guns, God or immigration without getting in trouble:
“These are the so-called wedge issues that have divided us in repeated elections. … We keep on talking past each other on the issues.”

After delving into points on each of those topics, Obama said “what’s most needed is the ability to listen and acknowledge those on the other side of the issue.”

Not doing that, allows for politicians to get “caught up in the same cycle of silliness that keeps us unable to solve our problems.”

On the large crowds and enthusiasm he has generated:
“The American people want to move past the old arguments and be engaged and enlisted in American renewal. They feel I am a helpful prop for the campaign but that it’s theirs.”

On what type of president he would be:
“I want transparency. I want accountability. … I think I am very good at getting people from different perspectives to listen to each other.”

-- Amy Dominello

Obama seamlessly interwove his explanation of his comments on small-town America to continue to criticize Republican policies for leaving many Americans behind.

McCain will be four more years of the same, he said, and Americans understand the country can’t afford more of the same.

“They understand what’s at stake here because they are living it everyday,” Obama said. “They’ve never wanted or needed change more badly than they do right now.”

-- Amy Dominello

Obama kicked of his speech at the Associated Press luncheon by acknowledging the elephant in the room – his controversial comments characterizing small-town America as “bitter.”

“I know that I kept you busy this weekend,” he joked. “Some of you might even be a little bitter about that.”

Obama characterized the controversy as a distraction, but he turned more serious as he tried to further explain his comments on the topic.

“For the last several decades people in small towns … have seen globalization change the rules on them,” he said.

Mills and factories throughout America have closed, in turn hurting those communities in which they were located, he said. Jobs have left, leaving many Americans behind. And politicians have made promises that they would help and nothing changes, Obama said.

“They are angry and frustrated with their leaders for not listening to them,” he said.

He criticized McCain for using the comments to characterize him as an elitist liberal. But Obama said it’s Republicans that are out of touch.

“If John McCain wants to turn this into a contest about who is more out of touch with America, that is a debate I’m happy to have,” he said.

-- Amy Dominello

McCain took questions from two Associated Press reporters after his opening speech. Here are some of the highlights.

On whether or not the country is in a recession:
“I certainly think so. … The important fact is Americans are hurting. These are very, very tough times in America.”

On whether he may benefit from voters who may cast their ballot for him because he is white:
“I rely on the goodness of America. At the end of the day, I think they’ll vote for the candidate with a vision.”
He added: “I know we have a long way to go in race relations.”

On his age:
“I’ll out-campaign them all. … If anyone has further doubts, come and meet my 96-year-old mother.”

On torture:
“We can not do what our enemies do and expect to earn the respect and admiration of leaders all over the world.”

On Supreme Court nominees:
McCain said he would not grill nominees on where they stand on abortion, but he said “I will approve nominees that in my view have a record of straight interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.”

-- Amy Dominello

WASHINGTON – Members of the Florida and Michigan units of the Building and Construction Trades Council are planning a demonstration this afternoon outside of Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Participants say they want the DNC to seat the two state’s delegates at the party’s presidential nominating convention.

Organizers say the demonstrators will gather with picket signs and handbills; but they say the effort is being held for “informational purposes only.”

No attempt to prevent anyone from entering the building, they say.

Those participating are in the nation’s capital for this week’s Building and Construction Trades Department Legislative Conference.

-- Billy House

Obama’s recent comments characterizing Americans who live in small towns as bitter provided McCain fodder to extol their virtues.

The strength and faith of those Americans have kept the country great, McCain said.

“They are the heart and soul of our country, the foundation of our strength,” he said. “They are inspiration and I look to them for guidance and strength.”

McCain will likely continue to use those comments against Obama.

-- Amy Dominello

McCain opened up at the Associated Press annual meeting saying he has decided to be as open as possible with the media, but admitted relations with the press can be an “obstacle course.”

“There have been days that I’ve wished you were somewhere else,” he said.

But McCain said he believes in giving reporters great access in an effort to clarify his positions and give reporters the opportunity to understand his policies.

“I want voters to know and understand my position,” he said. “… I’ll take my chances with you and trust in the American people to get it right.”

McCain drew applause when said he narrowly supports a federal "shield law" to protect journalists from having to reveal confidential sources. (AP story here.)

He said he worries about the law’s impact on classified government information, but the law can also protect those who bring light to government misdeeds.

“It is frankly a license to do harm – serious harm,” McCain said. “But it’s also a license to do good.”

McCain also made sure to get a few digs in. Newsrooms are among the least transparent institutions in the country, he said.

“I think it’s an impression the press should work on correcting,” he said.

-- Amy Dominello

An audience full of journalists.

It’s a candidate’s worst nightmare.

And today two of three presidential candidates will get to experience that living nightmare as top journalists descend on the Washington Convention Center for industry conferences.

Republican John McCain speaks this morning at the Associated Press Annual Meeting.

Democrat Barack Obama will speak later at the Associated Press luncheon.

We’ll update this blog to let you know what the two presidential contenders say.

Hillary Clinton, Obama’s fellow Democrat, won’t be able to escape either. She’ll speak tomorrow at the joint lunch meeting of the Newspaper Association of America and American Society of Newspaper Editors.

-- Amy Dominello

Fri, April 11, 2008 - 10:34 AM

The Associated Press reports fire destroyed a Clinton campaign office in western Indiana this morning.

Two people were inside when the fire started but escaped without injuries, Terre Haute Fire Department spokesman John Gardner told AP. Gardner said nothing so far had indicated the fire was arson.

Clinton was not in Indiana at the time. She is campaigning in Philadelphia today and is to hold an event tomorrow in Indianapolis, according to her campaign schedule.

--Neil Simon

Thu, April 10, 2008 - 5:58 PM

WASHINGTON -- Two Democratic U.S. senators, Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, today introduced a "sense of the U.S. Senate" resolution declaring that presumptive GOP presidential candidate John McCain is a "natural born Citizen," eligible to run for president under the Constitution.

Their move comes after The New York Times published a report in February calling into question the legality of McCain’s presidential run. McCain was born to American-citizen parents stationed on an American Naval base in the Panama Canal Zone.

In a press release, Leahy explained: “Because he was born to American citizens, there is no doubt in my mind that Senator McCain is a natural born citizen. I expect that this will be a unanimous resolution of the Senate.”

“It is silly for anyone to argue that Senator McCain is not eligible to become president,” added McCaskill. “I would hope that this is something we can all agree on, for goodness sakes.”

-- Billy House

With seven months left until America chooses a replacement for President Bush, some of the candidates may wish they could reconsider a thing or two about the race.

Hillary Clinton has reconsidered her statement that she was under sniper fire in Bosnia when she was First Lady.

Barack Obama may have reconsidered his choice of a church.

And now that the economy is weighing heavily on Americans’ minds and wallets, John McCain may want to take a step back from his statement that he’s not an expert on the economy.

Despite – or maybe because of – the candidates’ missteps, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia will take a look Wednesday at the process of electing an American president in a program entitled “The Presidency Reconsidered.”

The program will include some top names in Virginia and national politics. It is free and open to the public for all you policy wonks in the Charlottesville area.

-- Amy Dominello

Wed, April 09, 2008 - 5:38 PM

Hillary Clinton may not want to spend a lot of time discussing her service on the board of corporate behemoth Wal-Mart, but the Center for Public Integrity does.

The non-partisan, non-profit investigative group posted two videos of Clinton at a Wal-Mart ribbon-cutting. Seems innocuous enough, right? But then they’ve got Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton in a trucker hat, praising Clinton as one of his best board members. For more on the Center’s views of the Clinton Wal-Mart ties – who in Arkansas didn’t have them? – go here.

It’s no fireworks video like this debate clip from Barack Obama and Clinton sniping on the subject, but it is an interesting look back at 1991 – if not for the bad hair and “real” trucker hats then for the glimpse into Clinton’s work for the retail giant.

WASHINGTON – A new poll shows most voters have no clue about the presidential contenders’ positions on immigration.

The poll commissioned by the Center for Immigration Studies also indicates that voters often held different positions from the candidates they supported.

For instance, only 34 percent of the 546 Republicans and 730 Democrats surveyed between March 12 and 13 who voted in primaries for Sen. John McCain correctly identified the Arizona Republican as favoring eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements.

Likewise, just 42 percent of those who voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton were aware that the New York Democrat also favored eventual citizenship, and 52 percent of those who voted for Barack Obama knew the Illinois Democrat did, too.

The poll also showed that these voters oftent held different positions from the candidate the supported. Only 31 percent of McCain voters had the same immigration position as he does. For Clinton, 45 percent of her voters shared her position, while 61 percent of Obama supporters shared his stance.

-- Billy House