Bill Richardson said Tuesday that the U.S. should "turn down the fiery rhetoric and turn up the smart pressure" when it comes to Iran.

(CNN)–New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will report raising a minimum of $5.2 million in funds for the third quarter his presidential campaign announced in a release on Sunday. The campaign said it was "a strong showing in a historically difficult fundraising period."

"Most importantly, this amount ensures we will have the resources we need to compete in the early states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina," the release went on to say. "We have strong organizations in those states and continue to expand our field operations by adding staff and opening new offices. Additionally, we have a very efficient campaign structure that maximizes every dollar that we bring in."

The campaign said it had approximately $500,000 in general election funds. It said the figures for the amount of cash on hand, were not yet available.

Midnight on Monday will mark the third quarter fund-raising deadline this year for all the declared candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Each quarter, the candidates must file reports with the Federal Election Commission detailing their fundraising and spending activity during the prior three months.

Related: Clinton and Obama to raise in the $20 million neighborhood

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Gingrich announced Saturday he would not seek the presidency in 2008.

(CNN)–Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said it was legislation co-authored by a current candidate in the GOP presidential race, that prevented him from continuing to run his own political action committee, American Solution, and opening a presidential exploratory committee.

"Yesterday morning we learned from our attorneys that under the McCain-Feingold law, it is a criminal penalty if I had retained any communication with American Solutions. I could go to jail," Gingrich said Sunday in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "And the idea that you're on the turn of the dime kill this program in order to obey the McCain-Feingold Act which I think is an unconstitutional, frankly destructive bill, was crazy. And I just said if we have to choose, then it's irresponsible to not finish building up American Solutions."

Gingrich was referring to the 2002 piece of legislation authored by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a current candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, and Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wisconsin, that regulates the financing of political campaigns.

Gingrich said his party does face a tough road in its quest to re-capture the White House. "I think the odds are 80 per cent that Sen. Clinton is the next president; I think she is almost certainly going to win the Democratic nomination," he said of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York. "And I think unless the Republicans can find a way to represent real change for the current situation in Washington, unless they can convince the American people they represent fundamental change, I think they'll have a very hard time."

On the current field of GOP candidates, Mr. Gingrich said he found them all to be "hardworking, smart people." He said he would hold off on endorsing any particular candidate until after the Republican National Convention next summer in Minneapolis.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Cate Edwards said she sides with her mother on the issue of gay marriage.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – Cate Edwards took questions in Des Moines Sunday on behalf of her father, former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, but she could only answer a few without referring to a campaign staffer for the details of her dad's positions.

She needed no help, however, in responding to a question relating to her position on gay rights, specifically gay marriage.

"I'm on my mom's side with this, not my dad's," Edwards said. "It's the word 'marriage' that he is hung up on."

"It's not about gay rights," she added.

John Edwards has said he does not support gay marriage, but his wife, Elizabeth, does.

"He very much does not understand–he has trouble, I guess, with the term 'gay marriage.' I don't," Cate Edwards said.

"I'm not going to try to defend him on that because I don't agree with it, but that's where he stands. But I don't want it to be understood as not standing for gay rights because that's certainly not true."

Cate Edwards and 'Desperate Housewives' actor James Denton were at a stop during a two-day swing through the Hawkeye State stumping for the Edwards for President campaign.

Only about a half dozen questions were asked, but a significant amount of her answers included referrals to a campaign staffer named Oliver–so many, in fact, that his name was soon becoming a small running joke, even to Edwards.

"Oliver will get you that information. You should all get to know Oliver," Edwards said laughing.

Related video: Watch Cate Edwards explain her father's position on gay marriage

– CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

Actor James Denton campaigned in Iowa for John Edwards over the weekend.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – James Denton, also known as plumber Mike Delfino
on the series 'Desperate Housewives,' said Sunday that Iowa is the "most important place to be right now."

Denton is campaigning in Iowa this weekend with the Edwards' eldest daughter, Cate, on behalf of her father, Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina.

"We're here because this is the most important place to be right now," Denton said. "You guys have the great opportunity to narrow down the field for the rest of the country.

"Iowans are very savvy politically," he added.

-CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

McCain said he would prefer a Christian president.

(CNN)– GOP presidential hopeful Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, says he feels religion should play a role in one's selection of a presidential candidate. "I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is 'Will this person carry on the Judeo Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?'"

McCain made the comments an in interview with beliefnet, a website that covers religious issues and affairs.

"I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, personally, I prefer someone who has a grounding in my faith," he said when asked about a Muslim candidate running for president.

Mr. McCain contacted beliefnet after the interview to clarify his remarks. "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values," he said.

"The Senator did not intend to assert that members of one religious faith or another have a greater claim to American citizenship over another," Jill Hazelbaker, McCain's communication director told CNN when asked for clarification on his comments. "Read in context, his interview with beliefnet makes clear that people of all faiths are entitled to all the rights protected by the Constitution, including the right to practice their religion freely. In the interview he also observed that the values protected by the Constitution, by which he meant values such as respect for human life and dignity, are rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. That is all he intended to say to the question, is America a Christian nation, and it is hardly a controversial claim."

McCain also said people should not be quick to dismiss his rival in the GOP race, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, simply because of his Mormon religion. "I believe that the Mormon religion is a religion that I don't share, but I respect," he said. "I think that Governor Romney's religion should not, absolutely not, be a disqualifying factor when people consider his candidacy for President of the United States, absolutely not."

He said he did agree with a recent poll that 55 percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation. "I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation."

"But I say that in the broadest sense," he said. "The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, 'I welcome only Christians.' We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are a nation founded on Christian principles."

McCain was also asked to clarify his being identified an Episcopalian, yet recently referring to himself as Baptist. "[It was] one comment on the bus after hours," he said. "I meant to say that I practice in a - I am a Christian and I attend a Baptist church." McCain said he was raised Episcopalian, but has attended a Phoenix Baptist church for many years.

When asked if he was close to taking the final step, and undergoing a Baptist baptism, he said he has been in discussions with his pastor about it. "But I would not anticipate going through that during this presidential campaign," he said. "I am afraid it might appear as if I was doing something that I otherwise wouldn't do."

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Obama is working hard to win over black voters in South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama, who has been emphasizing his faith as a way to reach out to black voters in South Carolina, attended two Baptist churches here on Sunday morning, one predominantly black and one predominantly white. Obama attended both services, but did not speak.

At 8 a.m., Obama was in West Columbia attending services at Brookland, which has one of the largest African-American congregations in the state. His wife Michelle Obama has previously spoken at the church. At 10:30 a.m., Obama took a more unexpected turn and headed downtown accompanied by his Secret Service entourage to visit First Baptist Church in Columbia, which is mostly white and conservative.

His campaign said the church visits were "an opportunity for the Senator to have a morning of fellowship with South Carolinians."

Obama's staff in South Carolina is in the midst of a grassroots effort called "40 Days of Faith and Family," which is promoting the candidate's faith through Bible study groups, house meetings and Gospel concerts across the state.

– CNN South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby

Bill Richardson said Sunday that diplomacy is the best way to resolve issues with Iran.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said Sunday it would be "enormously unwise" for the Bush administration to take military action against Iran before it gets out of Iraq.

"I believe it would be enormously unwise for the Bush administration to start another war before ending this tragic war we're in today and it does sound like the administration is ramping up. You can just see it," he said.

Richardson, also the governor New Mexico, pointed to a 76-22 vote in the Senate last week on a resolution urging the State Department to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only Democratic senator who is running for president to vote for the measure. Richardson criticized her vote.

"Calling them names, labeling them terrorists, drawing up military options is just making the situation worse and inflaming the Muslim world," he said.

U.S.-Iran tensions are running high over U.S. allegations that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and supplying Iraq's Shiite militias with weapons that have killed U.S. troops. Iran denies both claims.

"Once again the administration seems to be preparing the American people for a ramp-up in action, and it would be, I believe, another disastrous foreign policy decision," Richardson
said.

Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador, said that as president he would use his diplomatic experience to engage Muslim clerics, students, university professors and business leaders in Iran. He would leave Iranian President Ahmadinejad out of the loop, calling him "a minor player" in that nation's politics.

"Forty percent of the vote in Iran in that last presidential election went to a moderate candidate," he said. "And I do believe that it makes sense to engage in a dialogue with Iran, knowing that it's going to be very difficult."

Richardson appeared on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

Dodd took issue with the positions of some of his rivals on Iraq.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (CNN) – At a campaign stop in rural Iowa Saturday Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, said he was stunned by the fact that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, would not commit to having all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by 2013.

In an interview with CNN Dodd said, "The idea that the so-called leading candidates for the Democratic nomination would not say categorically that six or seven years from today–four years after [assuming] the presidency–we would not be out of Iraq I found rather stunning."

Dodd was referring to comments the three made at Wednesday's Democratic debate broadcast on MSNBC. Dodd said when he heard their responses on that stage he could "hardly breathe" because he was "so angry."

When asked if he were to become president and combat troops were still in Iraq, how long it would be until they were out Dodd said, "I want to effectuate that now. I don't want to wait until 2009."

He continued, "But if I'm unable to achieve that–which we ought to be able to do–then I would begin that redeployment process immediately. I'd depend upon my military planners on the timing of it, but they tell me they can move a brigade and a half out each month. So my goal would be, depending upon the level of troops there at that time, to begin that redeployment immediately."

-CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

Giuliani said the GOP needs to focus its efforts in all 50 states.

(CNN)–Rudy Giuliani says the Republican party needs to change its strategy if it wants to win in 2008.

"How about we win?" the GOP hopeful said in a speech Saturday. "That means that we take back the House, we take back the Senate, and we keep the presidency in Republican hands," he said.

Giuliani said the GOP needs to focus beyond running in 25 or 30 states "which is what we have done in the last 3 or 4 times, which is why we had to depend on Ohio, in '04 and we had to depend on Florida in '00."

He criticized the way certain races had been run in the past. "We do this 30 state campaign, we don't campaign in 20 of the states," the former New York mayor said, "and these happen to be the states where we lost members of the Congress and Senators and we have to become again, among other things in 2008, we have to become a 50-state Republican party."

Giuliani, who was speaking to a gathering of women, said when it comes to Senator Hillary Clinton, D-New York, voters should consider more than just her role as the only woman in the presidential campaign. "American people decide who they want as president based on who they think the right person is for the country, not whether someone is a man or a woman or a different race," Giuliani said. "We have a record that's very, very proud and very long of making certain that women participate on a full and complete and equal basis with men," he said.

Giuliani made his comments to the National Federation of Republican Women Convention in Palm Springs, California. He was scheduled to campaign in Portland, Oregon, and Kirkland, Washington later in the day.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — At least via voice mail.

Actor James Denton may be campaigning in person here in Iowa Saturday and Sunday for Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, but he reached out to voters on Friday with a message sent to phones across the state.

“Hi. This is James Denton,” he said in the recording. “You might know me better as Mike Delfino, the plumber from ABC's Desperate Housewives.”

“I'm a huge supporter of Sen. John Edwards for president,” Denton continues, “and when elected he'll not only end the war in Iraq but he'll make sure every American has guaranteed healthcare, among other amazing things.”

In the message, Denton twice encourages listeners to "press '4′" to forward the message to friends.

Read the rest of this entry »

Former President Clinton on the campaign trail with his wife.

(CNN)–Although Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, says he is the candidate best suited to change the ways of Washington as president, former President Bill Clinton says he was far more experienced to be president when he ran in 1992 than Obama is today.

Despite the fact that Clinton was 46 when he ran, the same age as Obama today, "there is a difference," Clinton said Friday in an interview with Al Hunt of Bloomberg Television. "I was the senior governor in America. I had been head of any number of national organizations that were related to the major issue of the day which is how to restore America's economic strength."

"I was in terms of experience was closer to Senator Obama in 1988 when I came within a day of announcing because most of the governors were for me," the former president, and husband of Democratic White House hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, said. "I had been governor for six years, and I really didn't think I knew enough and had served enough, and done enough to run. That doesn't mean that he shouldn't. That's his decision."

"What America needs in a president changes from time to time," Clinton said when highlighting his wife's role as a two-term senator, former first lady, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Her experience is more relevant and more compelling."

On Saturday, Obama sought to use some previous comments by the former president to prove a point.

"I remember what was said years ago by a candidate running for President. He said, 'The same old experience is not relevant. You can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience.' Well that candidate was Bill Clinton. And I think he was absolutely right," Obama said in a statement released by his campaign. “I may not have the experience Washington likes, but I have the experience America needs—the ability to bring people together, stand up to the special interests, and tell the truth to the American people on the major issues we face, from Iraq to Social Security,” Obama said.

Obama, a former member of the Illinois state legislature, is in his first term in the United State Senate, and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

James Denton and Cate Edwards on the campaign trail in Iowa Saturday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Television's "Desperate Housewives" star James Denton lent his celebrity to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards on Saturday as part of an effort to woo young voters.

Denton, who plays the sexy plumber Mike Delfino on ABC's popular show, joined Edwards' eldest daughter, Cate, on the campaign trail. They met with Edwards' student supporters and signed autographs at a homecoming tailgate party at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Denton, wearing a casual sweater and jeans, drew dozens of revelers — mostly women — from the hot dog-eating, beer drinking and party games taking place in a packed parking lot. He patiently posed as women young to old, and the occasional male, got their picture taken beside the star.

He told reporters that he had supported the former North Carolina senator when Edwards ran for president in 2004 and became Sen. John Kerry's running mate, but wanted to do more for the Democratic Party this time.

"I think the party kind of assumed that the election was a slam-dunk and found out the hard way you have to get out and work," he said.

So, this election season, Denton said he got in touch with the Edwards campaign and offered his help, including attending fundraisers in Los Angeles and stumping in the Heartland.

Edwards' proposals on ending the war in Iraq, providing universal health care and cleaning up the environment are what drew him to the candidate, Denton said.

"I decided I'll come to Iowa a few times and just do everything I can this time because I really believe he's the right guy," Denton said. "It's impressive to me that he's willing to say the tough things and let the chips fall where they may."

Newt Gingrich

(CNN) — Two days after hinting he would make a run for the White House, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided Saturday he would not run for president, his spokesman told CNN.

Rick Tyler said Gingrich realized he couldn't run a political action committee — his American Solutions group — and form an exploratory committee to run for president at the same time.

"He will continue to bring the American people solutions to the challenges America faces through American Solutions, not as a candidate for president," Tyler said in a phone interview.

Thursday, Gingrich told supporters in Marietta, Ga., that if they pledge at least $30 million to his campaign over a three-week period starting Monday and ending Oct. 21, he will compete for the nomination.

Tyler said the assessment of whether or not Gingrich supporters could raise the money never began.

Gingrich chose Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the signing of his "Contract With America," to launch his "Solutions Day" campaign, which he said is a search for bi-partisan answers to the country's major challenges.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bush was critical of Congress for not passing spending bills before the end of the fiscal year.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush lambasted Congress Saturday for not passing spending bills before the fiscal year ended, and signed emergency legislation to keep the government running for the next seven weeks.

"Congress failed in its most basic responsibility: to pass the spending bills that fund the day-to-day operations of the government," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

"I do thank the Congress for passing this temporary measure, and for passing it without any new spending, new policies or new projects," the president added.

Earlier this week, House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey, D-Wis., responded to similar criticism from the president, saying he had already talked to the White House about a "clean" continuing resolution and accused the president of manufacturing "a disagreement when there is none."

"This is the time when we ought to be sitting down to work out reasonable compromises with each other instead of issuing phony challenges or posing for political holy pictures," Obey said in a statement.

The president warned yet again that he would veto congressional plans to expand state-administered children's health programs, calling the increase in funding and coverage of State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, "irresponsible."

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The Edwards campaign clarified earlier statements on accepting public campaign financing.

(CNN)–John Edwards appeared to be stepping back from comments he made earlier this week in which he said he was committed to participating in public campaign financing, and the limits that come from such a commitment.

Aboard CNN's Election Express Bus on Thursday, CNN's Candy Crowley asked Edwards if he would completely commit to public financing. "I will. I think that, I have thought a great deal about this," the Democratic presidential hopeful said, "and again I want to go back to the not sounding holier than thou, I myself thought earlier in this campaign about the possibility of not taking public financing."

“Now are we talking about primary matching funds, or are we talking about general election matching funds?” Crowley asked. "We’re talking about through the campaign. Period," the former North Carolina senator said. "I will commit, because this is not about a money calculation. This is about taking a stand, a principled stand for what’s right. I believe in public financing. I’ve said that many times."

Those statements appear to contrast with later statements from the Edwards campaign. In an article in the New York Times on Friday, David Bonior, Edwards campaign manager, said that Edwards might reject public financing for the general election if the Republican nominee did not commit to doing the same. "Accordingly, we will continue to raise money for the general election so we will be ready to compete against the Republican nominee," Bonior said in the article.

In the same article, Joe Trippi, a senior adviser to the Edwards campaign, said that what Edwards had meant to say earlier was that he was committed to a similar proposal Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, one of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, had made to Republicans - that he would agree to public financing limits, if the eventual Republican nominee did the same. "He was thinking of the Obama challenge to the Republican nominee," Trippi said in the article.

On Saturday, the Edwards campaign called the comments from Bonior and Trippi a clarification of their position.

In order to qualify for so-called "matching funds," the public funding program for the primary season, the FEC requires candidates to demonstrate nationwide support by raising $5000 in 20 different states with no individual contribution to exceed $250, a task which poses little difficulty for major candidates like Edwards.

Once qualified, the federal government will match the first $250 from new contributors, provided Edwards adheres to a $50 million national spending limit, as well as spending limits in each state. Candidates may not receive more than about $21 million in matching funds.

Public funding in the general election comes in the form of an $84 million grant given to a major party nominee if the candidate agrees not to raise or spend outside funds.

No general election candidate has ever refused these funds since the program began in 1976, though this year a number of presidential candidates from both parties have indicated they may forego the general election funding.

Watch interview: Edwards to accept public financing

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Clinton made the bold suggestion Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home.

Clinton, her party's front-runner in the 2008 race, made the suggestion during a forum hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.

"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that downpayment on their first home," she said.

The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of such a program or how she would pay for it. Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States.

Clinton said such an account program would help Americans get back to the tradition of savings that she remembers as a child, and has become harder to accomplish in the face of rising college and housing costs.

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Obama has seen financial suceess during the rise of his national political profile.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Barack Obama has two best-selling books, a nice salary as a senator and a wife with a handsome income. Earlier this year he reported assets of up to $1.14 million in addition to his Chicago home.

That's small change to some of his presidential rivals, but more than enough to create entanglements and controversies for Obama, a Democrat who has been positioning himself as a friend of the little guy on financial matters.

Recently, he scolded Wall Street executives for focusing too much on their own success and not enough on what's good for the whole nation. And he called for tax cuts for the working poor.

"I didn't just discover working folks on the campaign trail. That's what I've been doing my entire adult life," he told union members Tuesday as he recounted his experience as a community organizer and civil rights attorney.

Obama's own success allowed him to buy a $1.65 million mansion near the University of Chicago in 2005. Political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who was under federal investigation, bought the vacant lot next door and sold part of it to Obama, giving the
senator more space.

There has been no suggestion that the arrangement was illegal. Obama paid Rezko for the extra space. But Obama has since said it was a mistake to do business with Rezko, who was indicted last year on charges he sought kickbacks from companies doing business with
an Illinois state pension fund.

Rezko and his companies contributed nearly $20,000 to Obama's state and federal races. Obama now has donated that amount to charity.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson will report raising more than $7 million in the third quarter, a source inside the campaign tells CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger.

Thompson is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. There are still three days for candidates to raise money in this fundraising period.